Unit I of the Kaiga nuclear power station will be shut down for maintenance on December 31, after generating electricity non-stop for 962 days and setting a world record. The unit will not function for the next 45 days.
The unit, a heavy water reactor, had set the record on December 10. It was earlier announced that the unit would be shut down for maintenance on December 30, but later it was decided that it would function till December 31.
45-day repairs
The bearings and other spare parts of the reactor would be replaced over the next 45 days, station officials told DH. There will be a dip in contribution to the grid as unit I used to produce 51 lakh units of power a day.
Unit I, which started functioning at 9.20 am on May 13, 2016, has generated 510 crore units till date.