Pakistan connects its first 1,100MW nuclear power plant to national grid

The newly-built 1,100MW Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2) was linked with the national grid on Thursday night. 

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in a statement termed it a ‘Pakistan Day’ gift to the nation. 

Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan in a midnight tweet said, “By the Grace of Almighty Allah, Nuclear Power Plant K-2 1,145MW synchronized successfully with the National Grid today (18.03.2021) at 21:37 hours.” 

He said that the current generation of the plant was 105MW. 

The nuclear power plant (NPP) had achieved criticality at the end of February and was undergoing certain safety tests and procedures before it could finally be connected to the national grid, the PAEC said. 

The loading of nuclear fuel onto the plant was started on December 1, 2020 after getting clearance from the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority. 

K-2 is the first nuclear power plant in Pakistan with a generation capacity of 1,100MW, which will “surely help improve the economy of the country”, the statement said. 

K-2 is a pressurised water reactor based on the Chinese HPR-1000 technology and a third generation plant equipped with advanced safety features. 

K-2 is one of the two similar under-construction plants in Karachi and will be inaugurated for commercial operation by the end of May this year. Another called K-3 is also in completion phase and expected to be operational by the end of this year. 

The PAEC owns six NPPs in the country, including two in Karachi and four at Chashma in Mianwali district of Punjab. 

Earlier, the collective generation capacity of all PAEC-operated nuclear power plants was around 1,400MW, which would go up with commissioning of K-2 and later on K-3.