Bruce Power's Unit 1 sets new post-refurbishment long-run record

Unit 1 at Bruce Power’s Bruce A generating station, set a new post-refurbishment record run Thursday (April 14) as it reached 151 days of consecutive operation.

 

“With this long-run record, we continue to demonstrate to the people of Ontario that refurbishment of nuclear units is an excellent investment in low-cost, clean energy that will produce reliably for decades,” says Paul Boucher, senior vice-president, for Bruce A. “I want to thank and commend the people of Bruce A for their commitment to outstanding performance supporting the high reliability of our units.”

 

Units 1 and 2 returned to service in 2012 after an extensive refurbishment project as part of the renewal of Bruce A that began with the return of Units 3 and 4 in 2003. The units have performed admirably since their refurbishment and Bruce Power set a site record for production in 2015, generating 30 per cent of Ontario’s electricity at 30 per cent less than the average residential price of power.

 

The 47.6 terrawatt-hours (TWh) produced in 2015 eclipsed the 45.58 TWh in 2014, which was the highest the site had achieved since 1991. Production was split fairly evenly between the Bruce A and B facilities, which produced 22.8 TWh and 24.9 TWh, respectively.

 

In December, 2015, Bruce Power and the Independent Electricity System Operators (IESO) announced an amended, long-term agreement to secure 6,300 megawatts of electricity from the Bruce Power site, through a multi-year investment program.

Bruce Power will begin main component replacement on Units 3-8 in 2020, starting with Unit 6. This will generate between 1,500 and 2,500 jobs on site annually – and 18,000 jobs across Ontario, directly and indirectly – while injecting up to $4-billion annually into Ontario’s economy.