The Commission granted an extension for the drawal of start-up power due to exceptional circumstances affecting project completion.

ORDER

This Petition has been filed by the Petitioner, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, under Regulation 19 of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Indian Electricity Grid Code) Regulations , 2023 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Grid Code’) as amended from time to time, with the following prayers:

“a) Permit drawal of start-up power from the grid under Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) for RAPP-8 commissioning till synchronization of RAPP-7 or 30.6.2026, whichever is earlier;

b) Pass such order(s) as deemed fit by the Commission.”

2. Rajasthan Atomic Power Project 7 and Project 8 of the Petitioner are located at Rawatbhata, Chittorgarh district in the State of Rajasthan. They are being implemented in two stages, consisting of units of 700 MW each. The project is an indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). Rajasthan Atomic Power Project 8 (in short ‘RAPP-8’) started drawing start-up power on 17.3.2024, the permission for which is expiring on 30.6.2025.

3. Rajasthan Atomic Power Project 8 of the Petitioner is located at Rawatbhata, Chittorgarh district in the State of Rajasthan. The project is an indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (hereinafter referred to as ‘PHWR’). However, as stated by the Petitioner, it could not be synchronized as yet, due to the following reasons:

(a) From 2020 to 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the execution of the Project. Many restrictions were imposed on employees and contractors at the workplace. This has caused delays in the construction and commissioning activities. All attempts were made to fast-track the project, and the commissioning activities were continued while ensuring compliance with the COVID-19 appropriate behavior.

(b) Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the degraded financial condition of the vendors, including the EPC Contractors, induced stress, which led to a delay in getting raw materials for the manufacture and subsequent non-realization of revised target date(s) for commissioning of the unit.

(c) Being a 700 MW PHWR, there is a stringent requirement of quality assurance on the design, selection, qualification, Operation, and Maintenance of critical equipment, e.g., reactor components, steam generators, pressurizers, etc. Therefore, the manufacturing of these critical equipments and their pre-service inspection have added to the delay in the supply of these equipments. Further, there are limited qualified vendors in India for the manufacturing of nuclear-grade reactor equipment and components.

(d) The Petitioner has developed new technology, e.g., interleaving of feeders, primary containment liner, containment spray system, passive decay heat removal system, and partial boiling in the primary heat transport system, to enhance the safety and efficiency of the nuclear power plants. All these new technology developments are reviewed by the independent regulators, and their efficacy has to be proved before erection, commissioning, and implementation. This has increased the project completion time.

(e) RAPP 8 is being constructed under an EPC contract. The financial condition of various vendors executing the EPC contract had suffered a major setback after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has added to the delays in construction and commissioning activities.

4. The Petitioner has submitted the current status of works of the project as under:

(a) The 400-kV switchyard has been charged, and all 400 kV transmission lines are in service. Start-up transformer (220/6.6 kV) was charged in the month of March 2024 and is in service, and station auxiliary electrical system buses have also been commissioned. The generator transformer units are commissioned, and the drawal of the startup power supply from this route is planned.

(b) Major equ