Successful outage execution has Pickering Nuclear’s Unit 1 back in service

In total, more than 247,440 hours were logged in the field, with no COVID-19 transmissions or injuries recorded.

“The fact that we were able to complete this outage and not have a single case of COVID-19 transmitted in the station is amazing,” MacDonald said. “Everyone quickly came on board with what was a new plan to deal with the pandemic. It’s a testament to our nuclear professionals and their ability to meet a higher standard to rise to the challenge.”

All told, more than 15,000 tasks were completed to ensure the unit can continue to produce clean, reliable power in a safe manner. This included a major, first-of-a-kind operation for the unit which involved shifting 160 fuel channels in Unit 1’s reactor back to their original position to optimize performance and extend the reactor’s life. OPG’s Inspection and Reactor Innovation division led the operation while contractor E.S. Fox successfully executed the work.

“This was the biggest single shifting campaign we’ve done at the station,” MacDonald said. “It’s the first of its kind of this magnitude.”

In another first for the unit, the outage team conducted wet axial scrape inspections in 20 fuel channels. The important inspection involves scraping material out of the reactor’s pressure tubes to confirm the safety and integrity of the unit.

Other work included refurbishment of three low-pressure turbine spindles, 20 breaker overhauls and swaps, and inspection of 317 valves and 43 pumps.

“The success of this project is a testament to all the safety measures we have put in place at the station and to our employees’ commitment to personal safety at all times,” said Dragan Popovic, Director of Work Management at Pickering Nuclear. “Our team did an unbelievable job completing this outage safely and without incident. It was a great team effort all around.”

With this outage complete, Unit 1 is expected to operate until 2022, when it will be taken offline again for its next planned outage.

Pickering’s reliable, clean and low-cost power is especially critical to Ontario with refurbishments underway or planned at Darlington Nuclear and Bruce Power. Thanks to a dedicated team of workers, the generating station has been performing better than ever.

Aside from Unit 1, staff at Pickering Nuclear will remain busy for the remainder of the year with two other major outages. Unit 4 will undergo necessary maintenance in August and Unit 6 will be taken out for an outage in September.