Ontario Power Generation

OPG News Release, September 14, 2005

September 14, 2005

ONTARIO POWER GENERATION BEGINS NIAGARA TUNNEL PROJECT

[Niagara Falls]: Ontario Power Generation today announced the start of construction on its $985-million, 10.4-kilometre Niagara Tunnel project to increase the output of power from Niagara Falls. It is expected to be producing new, clean electricity by late 2009.

The project involves boring a tunnel 14.4 meters in diameter at a depth of up to 140 meters below the City of Niagara Falls and the surrounding area. The tunnel will enhance the original engineering accomplishment of the Sir Adam Beck complex in transporting water along the Niagara Escarpment to increase its energy output.

The tunnel also will complement the upgrading of the 16 generating units at the Sir Adam Beck 2 station that was completed in May. The nine-year upgrading increased the potential peak output of the 16 units by 194 megawatts. It was completed ahead of schedule and about 15 per cent under its original budget estimate of $220-million.

"When completed, the Niagara Tunnel will enable the Beck complex to produce an additional 1.6 terawatt-hours of electricity per year for at least the next 90 years—enough extra annual energy to power a city double the size of Niagara Falls," said Jim Hankinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Power Generation.

He added, "I want to thank the people of the Niagara region for the strong support they have given to OPG and our predecessors over the years."

"This project builds on the tradition of partnership between the Ontario Government and OPG and its predecessors," said OPG Chairman Jake Epp."The Beck 1 and Beck 2 projects were the result of cooperation and partnership between the Government and Ontario's power sector. That same spirit ofpartnership is making the Niagara Tunnel possible today."

"A diverse, clean, reliable and sustainable supply of energy remains fundamental to our economic growth and our very way of life," said Premier Dalton McGuinty. "Building this tunnel is another important step, a powerfully important step, towards progress, prosperity and opportunity for the people of Ontario."

"The McGuinty Government is fulfilling our commitment to expand clean, green, renewable power at Niagara Falls," said Energy Minister Dwight Duncan." The new tunnel is part of the Government's plan to boost the supply of clean and reliable electricity in Ontario."

The Niagara Tunnel project will allow enough energy production to serve an additional 160,000 average homes. Average annual energy output from the Sir Adam Beck Complex is expected to be increased by 14 per cent.

Currently approximately 1,800 cubic metres of water per second are available from the Queenston Chippawa Power Canal and the two existing tunnels under Niagara Falls. An additional 500 cubic metres of water per second will be made available via the new tunnel.

The tunnel is expected to provide a major economic stimulus to the Niagara Region and to Ontario. About 80 per cent of its budget is to be spent within the province. On average, the project is to employ 230 workers. This number will rise to 350 at periods of peak activity.

By comparison, about 10,000 workers participated in the building of the original canal-tunnel-powerhouse at the complex, which opened in 1922.

The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to be used will be 14.4 metres (47.2 feet) in diameter and will be the largest used in Ontario and among the largest in the world. It will be about 2 ½ times the diameter of a typical Toronto subway tunnel and more than 1 ½ times the size of the English Channel tunnels.

The TBM is scheduled to start excavating in August, 2006. The average advance rate of the machine is expected to be about 12 to 15 metres a day.

The tunnel will remove more than 1.6 million cubic metres of material, mostly Queenston Shale—enough to fill Toronto's Roger's Centre. It will be stored on OPG property and could be used by Ontario's clay brick industry.

Ontario Power Generation Inc. is an Ontario-based electricity generation company whose principal business is the generation and sale of electricity in Ontario. Our focus is on the efficient production and sale of electricity from our generation assets, while operating in a safe, open and environmentally responsible manner.

For more information contact:
Ontario Power Generation Media Relations
1-877-592-4008 or (416) 592-4008