Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 in Pakistan Sets a New Record of 427 Consecutive Days of Trouble-Free Operation

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) announced that Chashma Unit-1 (C-1) at the Chashma Nuclear Power Generating Station (CNPGS) near Mianwali in Punjab Province achieved 427 days of safe and uninterrupted continuous operation during its 18th fuel cycle. This achievement broke the previous record held by C-2 and C-4 units, setting a new historic high for the longest continuous safe operation period of a single unit in the history of Pakistan's nuclear power development.

During this extended operating cycle, this 325-megawatt (MW) pressurized water reactor unit demonstrated outstanding international nuclear power operational indicators. The Performance Indicator Index released by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) showed that C-1 achieved a perfect score of 100 in both the first and second quarters of 2026. This dual-quarter perfect score places the unit firmly in the leading tier of commercial nuclear power units worldwide in terms of operational reliability, equipment integrity, and nuclear safety management.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission expressed high recognition of the professionalism of the engineers and technicians, frontline scientists, and support teams at the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant, noting that this record was achieved through strict implementation of international nuclear safety standards and a rigorous preventive maintenance system. As the first commercial nuclear power unit exported by China to Pakistan (with its prototype referencing the independently designed and constructed 300,000-kilowatt pressurized water reactor at Qinshan Phase I), C-1 has maintained top-tier condition after more than two decades of commercial operation, fully validating the full lifecycle value of existing nuclear energy assets under high-quality operation and maintenance and standardized management.

The outstanding operational performance not only consolidated grid security but also demonstrated the significant economic benefits of nuclear power in stabilizing electricity price fluctuations. According to official energy cost accounting data submitted to the Senate of Pakistan in September 2026, the on-grid tariff from the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant is Rs6.876 per unit, making it the second lowest-cost stable clean power source among all types of power generation in Pakistan, second only to large-scale hydropower.

Currently, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission regulates and operates a total of 6 commercial nuclear power units——including 4 units of the 300 MW class at the Chashma site (C-1 through C-4) and 2 “Hualong One” million-kilowatt-class units at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (K-2 and K-3), with a total installed nuclear power capacity of 3,530 megawatts (MW) across the entire system. Facing electricity demand driven by the national industrial recovery and foreign exchange pressure from imported fossil fuels, the continuously and stably outputting nuclear power fleet has become the ballast stone for Pakistan's national grid in meeting summer peak demand, ensuring low-carbon baseload power supply, and safeguarding national energy security.