Rooppur Unit 1 approved for power start-up, trial supply to national grid hoped for next month

Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna has cleared another important step towards generating electricity at its first unit. After the required physical start-up tests were completed, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) has approved the start of 'Stage C', or power start-up, activities.

NPCBL Managing Director Dr Zahedul Hasan confirmed the approval on Thursday evening (29 October). He said BAERA Chairman M Mahmudul Hasan had given the necessary permission to begin power start-up activities at the first unit.

The approval allows the reactor's power to be raised step by step, electricity to be generated, and preparations to move forward for trial supply to the national grid. Project officials say that if the required tests and commissioning work proceed according to plan, trial supply to the national grid could begin next month.

According to sources, the B-2 stage physics tests and other required tests and activities for the first unit have already been completed. The Stage C approval was given after reports of those tests were submitted to BAERA.

Dr Zahedul Hasan said the plant was now moving from the physical start-up stage into the power start-up stage. BAERA has given the operating organisation trial operational approval to conduct activities at this stage.

He said that during Stage C, the reactor, the primary and secondary coolant systems, the turbine-generator, the electrical systems, the instruments and control systems, and the protection and safety systems will be tested in sequence. Whether these systems work properly in coordination with each other will also be checked.

The main goal of this stage is to ensure the plant's safe, stable and reliable operation and to verify its ability to supply electricity to the national grid on a trial basis. As the reactor's power is raised step by step, the turbine's control and protection systems, the generator and the related electrical equipment will be tested under normal operating conditions.

Coordination between the reactor, turbine and safety systems is crucial throughout the process. Coordination must also be maintained with BAERA, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the agencies involved in operating the national grid, and the institutions involved in security, law enforcement and nuclear emergency management.

A key milestone of Stage C is connecting the generator to the national grid. Project sources say tests will begin with the reactor kept at low power, and capacity will then be raised gradually based on the results and technical evaluations. Trial supply to the national grid could begin once the reactor's thermal power is raised to 30 to 35 percent.

Officials expect that if the required tests are completed successfully, at least 300 megawatts of electricity could be supplied to the national grid from the first unit by December this year. That timeline, however, depends on test results, the progress of commissioning work, and meeting the regulator's conditions.

Officials note that completing the Stage C tests, beginning trial supply to the grid, and entering commercial operation are three separate milestones. Power start-up approval does not mean commercial production begins immediately; the required technical tests, commissioning work and all of the regulator's conditions must be met first.

The Rooppur plant has two units, each with a generating capacity of 1,200 megawatts. At full capacity, the plant's total output will be 2,400 megawatts. It is being built with Generation III+ technology and is designed for a lifespan of 60 years.

The original deadline for the Rooppur project was December 2025; after two extensions, it has been set for June 2028. According to project information, the cost has risen due to the dollar exchange rate and other financial factors, and the total cost is now put at Tk 138,686 crore.