Chennai, May 10 (IANS): The first 1,000-MW unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) stopped generation on Saturday evening after the reactor tripped, the Power System Operation Corporation Ltd. (PSOCO) said on Sunday.

According to PSOCO, the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant's first unit stopped at 6.38 p.m. on May 9 owing to "reactor trip due to transient in-steam generator level control."

The unit touched the day's peak generation of 873 MW.

India's atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) is setting up two 1,000-MW Russian reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, 650 km from here.

The first unit, which is the beginning of the fission process, attained criticality in July 2013.

Subsequently, it was connected to the southern power grid in October 2013 but the commercial power generation began only on December 31, 2014.

The second unit is expected to start commercial generation this fiscal.