Pickering units' operation assured as OPG plans for refurb

Monday, 14 October 2024

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has approved Ontario Power Generation's request to continue operating Pickering units 5-8 to the end of 2026, ensuring the units can continue in operation until they are taken offline for refurbishment. Unit 1 ceased commercial operations on 30 September and unit 4 will close by the end of this year.

Submissions from Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) staff and 54 intervenors during a public hearing in Pickering in June 2024 were considered by CNSC before authorising the units to operate until 31 December 2026, up to a maximum of 305,000 equivalent full power hours (EFPH). OPG was previously authorised to operate the units until 31 December this year, up to a maximum of 295,000 EFPH. The amended licence includes a new condition requiring OPG to implement and maintain an enhanced fitness-for-service programme, the CNSC said.

OPG's Pickering Nuclear Generating Station comprises two reactor facilities with a total of eight Candu reactor units. Units 5-8 - sometimes referred to as Pickering B - began operating between 1983 and 1986. Units 1 and 4 - part of the four-unit Pickering A plant which began operations in the early 1970s and was laid up in 1997 - underwent refurbishment before returning to service in the 2003 (unit 4) and 2005 (unit 1).

Pickering unit 1 was taken offline and out of service on 30 September as planned, and will now be dewatered and placed in safe storage. Unit 4 will be taken out of service at the end of December, as OPG continues to plan for the refurbishment of units 5-8.

The CNSC's decision will help meet Ontario’s rising need for electricity, particularly as the province's other nuclear stations undergo refurbishment, OPG said.

"This is another great milestone for Pickering Nuclear and all our station staff, who have worked hard to help Pickering achieve some of its best performance in its history in recent years," OPG Chief Nuclear Officer Steve Gregoris said.

Plans to refurbish units 5-8 were formalised at the start of this year, when the provincial government announced its support for the project. OPG's timeline envisages putting the entire station into a "layup state" in 2026 so that refurbishment activities can begin. All four refurbished reactors will be back in service by the mid-2030s.

OPG is currently refurbishing four Candu units at its Darlington site, aiming to complete the project in 2026, and is also planning to build up to four BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at its Darlington New Nuclear project.