Chennai, Nov 10 : One unit of the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), shut down for annual maintenance late October, is expected to resume operations by the end of this month.

Located in Kalpakkam, around 80 km from here, MAPS operates two pressurised heavy water reactor units of 220 MW capacity each.

"The maintenance operations -- in-service inspections -- are on. The first unit will start operations after getting regulatory clearances. The unit was shut down on October
21," said station director K. Ramamurthy.

Before the maintenance shutdown, the two units were operating at around 60 percent plant load factor and generating 130 MW each.

"Once the tight fuel situation eases by the end of this fiscal, the generation will improve further," Ramamurthy told IANS from Kalpakkam over phone. (IANS)