The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) has granted an operating licence to the 1.1 GW third unit of the Karachi nuclear power plant, located in southern Pakistan. Unit 3 is the second of two Hualong One pressurised water reactors installed at the plant, supplied by China’s CNNC.
Unit 3, whose construction started in 2016, achieved first criticality in February 2022 and was connected to the grid in March 2022, before passing acceptance tests in April 2022 and entering commercial operation. The other Hualong One reactor (Unit 2) was granted its operating licence by PNRA in June 2022. The Karachi nuclear power plant was home to Pakistan's first nuclear reactor, a 100 MW Canadian pressurised heavy water reactor which shut down in 2021 after 50 years of operation.
At the end of 2021, nuclear represented 4% of Pakistan’s installed capacity with over 1.4 GW and 13% of its power generation with more than 19 TWh.
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