The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was today synchronised with the southern power grid, marking a major milestone in power generation of the ambitious Indo-Russian nuclear collaboration in Tamil Nadu. KNPP Site Director R S Sundar said in Chennai, the synchronisation was done at 2.45 AM. The synchronisation coincides with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's two-day visit to Russia.
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board had in August given its nod to increase the power generation by 50 per cent up to
500 MW. Nuclear Power Corporation of India is constructing two 1,000 MW units at KNPP jointly with Russia at
Kudankulam in Tiruneveli district, some 650 km from Chennai.

Our correspondent reports that the nuclear reactor achieved criticality on 13th of July. The power generation in the nuclear reactor will be increased in stages to attain full capacity of 1000 MW by year end. As the nuclear plant is synchronized to the southern grid, the power generation will now be increased to 500 MW, 750 MW, 900 MW and then finally 1000 MW. An expert team of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Nuclear Power Corporation are supervising the whole process. The Koodankulam nuclear power plant which was to be commissioned on December 2007 got inordinately delayed because of protests by locals.