The year 2001-02 was an eventful year for the NPCIL. Financial sanction was accorded by the Government of India for the projects namely, Kaiga 3&4 (2x220 MWe), Kudankulam 1&2 (2x1000 MWe) and RAPP 5&6 (2x220 MWe). Taking into account TAPP 3&4 (2x540 MWe) project, a total capacity of 3960 MWe, is under construction concurrently.

The company generated 19,199 million units during the year as against the target of 15,518 MUs. This generation was 15% higher than the previous year’s generation of 16,696 MUs. The overall plant load factor, which has been steadily increasing, reached a level of 85%. Kakrapar Atomic Power Station had the distinction of achieving an annual average capacity factor of about 93%.

As a result of good performance on the electricity generation front, the financial performance of NPCIL showed a remarkable improvement in its turnover (sale of energy net of levies) which is Rs.3946 crore, as compared to about Rs.3226 crore for the year 2000-01, registering, an increase of about 22%. The profit after tax for the year 2001-02 stood at Rs.1550 crore, registering a steep rise from the previous financial year’s figure.

Renovation and modernization has resulted in extended plant life and operations with enhanced safety and putting the existing capacity to optimum use by marginal additional investment. Refurbishment work for en-masse coolant channel replacement and up-gradation works in second unit of Madras Atomic Power Station has commenced.

NPCIL has retained "Excellent" MoU rating of the last year, based on the performance appraisal as per MoU commitment with the Government of India, and the bonds of the Company continued to be rated ‘AAA’ (denoting highest safety) by M/s. CRISIL as well as M/s. CARE.

Units 1&2 of RAPS at Rawatbhatta were certified as ISO 14001 by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), in March 2002. The certified EMS of other stations namely Narora, Kakrapar, Tarapur and Kalpakkam, has yielded rich dividends in terms of minimization of waste, resource conservation and environment upgradation.

The capacity of TAPP 3&4 units has been increased to 2 x 540 MWe from the initial capacity of 2 x 500 MWe. In addition, the capital cost for completion of TAPP 3&4 is likely to be reduced by about 15 to 20%. Design work on future PHWR units of 680/700 MWe unit rating, by permitting partial boiling in channels, is also in progress. These steps are expected to result in enhanced economic competitiveness vis-à-vis the contemporary thermal power plants.

Safety record of the operating plants continued to be excellent. NAPS and MAPS bagged AERB Industrial Safety Award and AERB Fire Safety Award respectively for the year 2001. At Kaiga Generating Station, World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Peer Review assessed the operating performance and safety practices adopted there in comparison with international benchmarks and standards. The results were found satisfactory.

NPCIL’s plants that have won the Greentech Industrial Safety Awards 2002 included NAPS 1&2- Platinum, KAPS and KGS 1&2 – Gold; Tarapur 1&2 – Silver and RAPS 1&2 – Bronze.