​Bruce Power’s Unit 4 MCR outage begins

Bruce Power, its partners and skilled tradespeople are rising to the challenge of Ontario’s growing energy demands, kicking off the Unit 4 Major Component Replacement (MCR) project over the weekend as its Life-Extension Program continues to deliver on plan.

The Unit 4 outage represents the middle of the company’s MCR project which will see Units 3-8 renewed to provide clean, reliable energy for province’s people, businesses and hospitals for decades to come, while also ensuring a dependable source of cancer-fighting medical isotopes to the world health-care community.

The three-year Unit 4 outage is the company’s third MCR project, building off the successes of Units 6 and 3, with seasoned tradespeople leveraging lessons learned and new, innovative technology.

“Our Life-Extension Program and Major Component Replacement are more than a construction project,” said Eric Chassard, Bruce Power president and chief executive officer. “By completing each of the MCR outages safely, on-plan, and to a high-quality standard, we are securing the future of the Bruce site, sustaining our communities, and powering Ontario through a time when electricity demand is growing rapidly.”

The Unit 3 MCR, which began in March of 2023, continues to progress on-schedule with a return-to-service date for the renewed unit on the horizon for 2026. Overlapping MCR outages will continue on the Bruce site until 2033, including a magnitude of work that no other utility in the world has faced.

Bruce Power’s $13-billion refurbishment is Canada’s third largest infrastructure project (behind British Columbia’s Peace River Site “C” hydroelectric project, and Ontario’s Go Transit expansion), and is Ontario’s largest clean-energy infrastructure project. Bruce Power’s Life Extension is unique in that it’s being funded through private investment.

“To execute a project of this scale and complexity, it takes an eco-system of nuclear professionals working together toward a common goal,” said Laurent Seigle, Bruce Power’s executive vice-president of projects. “We’re committed to returning these units to service, safely and successfully, to meet Ontario’s clean energy needs well into the future.”

The company, its partners and skilled tradespeople are hitting full stride, building on the strength and innovation garnered through the successful completion of the Unit 6 MCR, and putting those lessons-learned into each successive MCR outage to see performance improvements along the way.

Innovative new tooling implemented in the Unit 3 MCR outage, including the first robotic tooling used on a reactor face anywhere in the world, has ensured the tradespeople can return the units to service safely, successfully and on-schedule. With the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)’s 2025 forecast predicting electricity demand could increase by 75 per cent by 2050, these renewed units will continue to power the province when it needs this clean energy the most.

“Under our contract with the IESO, subsequent MCRs are expected to improve on cost and schedule by building on lessons-learned and experience,” said Rob Hoare, vice-president of MCR execution. “And we’re seeing that happen in real time on this project. Evolutions that were recently completed on Unit 3 have been assessed and improved on for execution in Unit 4. It’s a testament to the world-class team we have and its commitment to continuous learning, proficiency and excellence.” 

Bruce Power currently produces 6,550 megawatts (MW) of peak clean energy and that output will increase to more than 7,000 MW in the 2030s, following the completion of the MCR program and other Life-Extension projects.

The Life-Extension Program and MCR projects will extend the operational life of each reactor by 30 to 35 years and, as a result, help mitigate the predicted increase in greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the electricity grid.

The program and ongoing site operations create and sustain 22,000 direct and indirect jobs annually and contribute approximately $4-billion in annual economic benefits in communities throughout the province, particularly in the Clean Energy Frontier region of Bruce, Grey and Huron counties.