A puff of smoke prompted a shutdown of one unit at Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Uttar Kannada district early on Saturday morning.
The 220 MW unit, which was commissioned in May 2007, was shut off soon after a smoke detection system went off in the control room.
“We shut down the unit because safety is more important than production of power. We have not noticed any damage. We had a team from the district administration and these officers also visited the unit to see for themselves that all is well,” KAPS director J.P. Gupta told this newspaper.
Mr Gupta said the unit would be switched on after routine maintenance tests on April 17.
The unit was originally scheduled to shut down for maintenance checks next month, a process carried out once every two years, as part of Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd’s safety procedure.
“At present Units 1, 2 and 4 are operating safely and generating about 560 MW. Unit 3 will resume power generation after the checks,” Mr Gupta added.
The team of officials, led by deputy commissioner B.N. Krishnaiah, which visited the unit, was subjected to a radiation check at the atomic power plant.
“All of us tested negative. We did not see any sign of damage inside the unit. Perhaps it is a false alarm,” he added.