Chennai, Jan 16 (IANS): The commercial operation of the first 1,000 MW atomic power plant at Kudankulam got further delayed and is expected to happen in February, the Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) said.

According to NPCIL, the commercial operation of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project's (KNPP) first plant is expected in February and the second unit in October.

India's atomic power plant operator NPCIL is setting up two 1,000 MW Russian reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, 650 km from here. The total outlay for the project is over Rs.17,000 crore.

KNPP is India's first pressurised water reactor belonging to the light water reactor category.

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

In August 2013, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) gave its permission to generate power up to 50 percent (500 MW) of the rated capacity.

The first unit is generating 425 MW and is connected to the grid.

Towards the end of December 2013, NPCIL said it had to carry out certain mandatory tests prescribed by AERB at the first unit before the reactor power is increased.

According to NPCIL, the physical progress of the work is 99.81 percent in the case of the first unit and 96.63 percent in respect of the second unit in December 2013.