Power generation hit; plant may be restarted after 72 hours Even as the first reactor of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project has been shut down for third fuel outage, the second reactor of the project, which attained criticality on July 22 after the first annual fuel outage, “was stopped externally” on Thursday morning for mandatory check that would be conducted usually after refuelling. Consequently, generation of 2,000 MWe power by the 2 X 1,000 MWe reactors has been hit. The second reactor that attained maiden criticality on July 10, 2016 was shut down for annual spent fuel outage on February 19 and attained criticality again on July 22 to resume power generation after 33% of the enriched uranium fuel loaded in the reactor was removed. Even as power generation in the reactor was being increased, the generator “was stopped externally” on Thursday morning for the scheduled inspection and maintenance, if required. “This is a scheduled activity mandated by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board after every fuel outage,” said sources in the KKNPP, dismissing social media reports that a “faulty valve” in the generator section led to the sudden closure. “We did not shut down the reactor, but have only stopped the generator,” the sources added. The inspection and maintenance are likely to last 3 days and power generation may resume after 72 hours.