Overview
Pickering B Refurbishment Study
Located on the shores of Lake Ontario just east of Toronto, in the City of Pickering, is one of the world’s largest nuclear generating facilities – Pickering Nuclear. Its two stations, Pickering A and B, are operated by OPG and produce enough electricity to serve a city of 1.5 million people. The Pickering B nuclear generating station has four CANDU reactors which have been producing electricity for more than 20 years, and with a regular maintenance schedule, are expected to operate safely for a decade or so. The units could be shut down at the end of their predicted service lives, or could be refurbished and continue to produce electricity for Ontario until 2050-2060. Refurbishing Pickering B would extend its service life by replacing major components such as feeder tubes, fuel channels and/or steam generators, among other things.
Should Pickering B be refurbished? Does it make sense from an economic point of view? What about safety and environmental issues? These questions cannot be answered without a very thorough analysis, so OPG has initiated studies to help make such a decision.
Practical matters
While health, safety and the environment are primary concerns, OPG also has a business responsibility to operate its assets as reliably and efficiently as possible. Refurbishing Pickering B would be a significant investment, and its costs must be weighed against its benefits before a decision can be reached.
Our goal is to develop an objective, fact-driven business case, which will lead to a decision by the OPG Board of Directors. We will take into consideration the cost, scheduling and scope of work, operating costs, production levels and the future pricing of electrical power. None of these parameters can be predicted with absolute confidence, and we recognize that we must clearly identify the financial risks and uncertainties which accompany a project of this magnitude.
Moving Forward
From now until 2008 OPG will be assessing the feasibility of refurbishing the Pickering B nuclear generating station for life extension and continued operation to 2050 - 2060.
If our Board of Directors decides to invest in the refurbishment of Pickering B for life extension, then a series of activities would begin:
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Planning
Procurement of long lead time materials
Detailed Engineering
Refurbishment Outage Planning |
2008 - 2011 |
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Outage Execution
Site preparation
1st Unit outage, and refurbishment
Return 1st Unit to Service |
2012 - 2017 |
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Refurbishment of three other Units Sequence to be determined |
TBD |
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Continued operation of Pickering B units after refurbishment |
2050 - 2060 |
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