The crippling shortage of nuclear fuel, which has forced India’s nuclear power plants to operate way below their capacities, had resulted in a loss of about Rs 6,000 crore in unharnessed electricity, a CAG report has concluded, while indicting the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) for its inability to ensure fuel security for the reactors.

The operation of most of these n-power plants at around half of their installed capacities, due to the lack of enough fuel, had denied the country “the full benefits of clean nuclear energy to the extent of 21,845 million units valued at Rs 5986 crore,” said the report, which was released on Thursday.

The report on ‘management of fuel for Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs)’, tabled in both the Houses said the fuel crisis was largely of the DAE’s own making and pointed to “a significant deficiency” in the planning process of the organisation.

“Despite existence of uranium reserves in the country to support the present PHWR programme up to 2020, India’s capacity for generation of nuclear power has been compromised for want of uranium,” it said.

“The DAE had not linked/ensured availability of fuel to fully address the needs of PHWR programme up to 2020. In spite of knowledge of an impending shortage of uranium fuel, the DAE went ahead and sought approval for four new PHWRs at a cost of Rs 6354 crore,” the report said, adding that the Cabinet clearance for these reactors was taken “without adequately highlighting the shortage of fuel for these reactors”.

... contd.