Bruce Power permitted to push unit 1 reactor beyond 50% capacity
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
The next step will be to bring reactor back to full power
TIVERTON, Ont.—Bruce Power has cleared the last significant hurdle to bringing its unit 1 nuclear reactor at Bruce A Nuclear Generating Station up to full power.
On Tuesday, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) approved the utility’s request to increase unit 1 beyond 50 per cent of its capacity. This is the last step before allowing the unit to return to full operation.
Last July, the CNSC authorized Bruce Power to restart unit 1 and bring it up to 50 per cent power for safety evaluations.
“Bruce Power has successfully completed all safety tests and has met CNSC regulatory requirements to bring unit 1 to full power,” Ramzi Jammal, CNSC’s executive vice-president and chief regulatory operations officer, said in a statement. “Our oversight of the unit’s operation will continue through normal compliance activities, marking the end of regulatory activities specific to reactor decommissioning.”
Bruce Power operates two nuclear facilities, Bruce A and Bruce B, near Tiverton, Ont. Bruce A’s units 1 and 2 started contributing power to the Ontario power grid last year after a 17-year hiatus. Both reactors were taken offline in 1995 for refurbishment. Each facility has four reactors, which combined, generate just over a quarter of the power used in Ontario.
According to the Independent Electricity Operator, nuclear power accounts for about 55 per cent of electricity generated in the province.
