Russia will supply four more such reactors, with two being located in Kudankulam. Jain said the negotiations for the purchase were on.

“The committee will review the project’s progress. The first unit is expected to generate power early next year and the second is expected to go critical after that,” said S.K.Jain, NPCIL’s chairman and managing director.

“Our basis of negotiations is that when the project is commissioned, the power cost will be equivalent to that supplied by coal fired power plants,” Jain said.

NPCIL by undertaking construction work itself has decreased the project cost, and will now focus on increased localisation of components for the proposed four reactors.

Jain said the spent fuel will be reprocessed in India as per the agreement with Russia.

Jain said that five – two each in Kudankulam and Rajasthan and one in Kaiga, Karnataka, were under construction and would be ready in 2010.

“Fuel for some of the units is dependent on India’s talks with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on the separation of nuclear power plants (civil and strategic).”

Rajasthan’s fifth and sixth units, which are under safeguards, will be ready by October 2009 and fuel fabrication for them has started.

Unit 4 at Kaiga, which is outside the safeguards, will be powered with local fuel.

NPCIL will also import reactors from Areva S.A. and General Electric Company and Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC.

“Two French reactors will be housed in Jaitapur (Maharashtra) and we are looking at more locations,” Jain said.

Tamil Nadu will be operating nuclear power generation capacity of about 6,000 MW, existing and proposed.

Tamil Nadu’s two existing nuclear islands, Kalpakkam and Kudankulam, have attained their saturation levels.

“There will be no more new locations to house nuclear power reactor projects in Tamil Nadu other than the existing Kalpakkam and Kudankulam,” said Jain.

“These locations have attained their saturation levels. The fourth and fifth fast breeder reactor projects that are being planned will be housed outside the state.”

In spite of, 2×220 MW pressurized heavy water reactors operated by the Madras Atomic Power Station since the 1980s and a clutch of test reactors, Kalpakkam will house three units of 500 MW fast breeder reactors.

India’s first fast reactor is under construction, designed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, and the government has sanctioned two more such reactors to be located there.

Over two units at a single location will make it economical for NPCIL to locate other facilities like fuel reprocessing centres.

Jain said that the plant load factor at NPCIL’s power stations are going up with the easing of fuel availability.

“Last year was difficult as the load factor was around 45 percent, but this year it will be around 75 percent.”