The loading permit was issued by the Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).The first fuel assembly was loaded into the reactor at 8:05 p.m. (MSK) on 12 May, according to Vladimir Angelov, ASE Group Project Director. The loading of all 163 fuel assemblies was finished by 19 May.

The unit is being prepared for the operation by a team of Russian and Indian engineers in strict compliance with the time schedule and safety standards. The controlled chain reaction is planned to begin in June. As estimated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL), the unit may be brought online in late June or early July.

Unit 1 of Kudankulam NPP was started in July 2013 and connected to the grid in October of the same year. After the first scheduled maintenance and refueling, the unit operates at its rated capacity of 1,000 MW and supplies power to consumers in Southern India.

In the spring of 2014, Russia and India signed a framework agreement to build the third and fourth units at Kudankulam. Construction documents were signed in the winter of the same year. At present, the parties are drafting a framework agreement on Units 5 and 6.The price has not been set yet as the technical proposal and commercial offer are still under consideration. So far, there is no information about the input of Indian companies in the construction, but the parties intend to engage local companies in equipment deliveries and production of fuel components.

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is based on the AES-92 design, which complies with the latest technical regulations of the IAEA and Russian Federation and is certified to the European Utility Requirements (EUR) for LWR Nuclear Power Plants. A specific feature of the AES-92 design is that, along with conventional active safety systems, it uses a number of hybrid safety solutions.