Expertise from Ontario Power Generation showing results at Point Lepreau: NB Power

Officials from NB Power say a three-year contract with Ontario Power Generation is already leading to improved outcomes at the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station.

“If we get to the end of the fiscal year and we don’t have any reason to think that we won’t, Lepreau will have one of its best years in a very long time,” NB Power CEO Lori Clark told a legislative committee on Friday.

Last year NB Power signed a three-year, $2-million contract with OPG that has three employees from the Ontario utility working at Lepreau helping to improve performance.

The facility has been an economic millstone for NB Power for years. Since a $2.4-billion refurbishment that finished in 2014, the facility has been plagued with shutdowns, a number of which related to the non-nuclear equipment at the station.

For example, an unplanned outage in December of 2022 wiped out all of the utility’s profits for the year, ultimately leading to a $43 million operating loss.

But should the plant continue to operate as planned to the end of the fiscal year in March, Lepreau is on track operate at 88 per cent capacity for the year. Last year the plant only produced 57 per cent of its capacity, while the five-year average is 78 per cent.

The deal is separate from a potential “partnership” between the utility and Ontario Power Generation, which could take the shape of joint ownership of Lepreau. Clark said that one of the options being discussed would involve ownership of the facility transferred to a new entity that is jointly owned by the two utilities, with NB Power receiving the generated electricity through a power purchase agreement.

1:57 NB Power explores partnership with Ontario Power Generation on Point Lepreau

CEO Lori Clark says the two utilities are continuing to negotiate, adding a deal would not involve the sale of one of the province’s largest power generation assets and would ensure electricity from the plant stays in New Brunswick.

“This is about, how do we make sure that the Lepreau station operates at the highest level of capacity factor that we can and provides secure, reliable energy for New Brunswickers and energy security, so we need to look at everything,” Clark told reporters.

Clark wouldn’t say if a deal may include some sort of payment from OPG or a transfer of liabilities.

However the main benefit to NB Power would be the nuclear expertise of OPG who operates 10 CANDU reactors at high efficiency.

Should the partnership be successful in allowing the plant to operate at 90 per cent or above of its capacity, Liberal MLA Rene Legacy says a deal would appear to be beneficial for both sides.

“When I see OPG operating over 90 per cent on its CANDU reactors, well that 12 per cent represents hundreds of million a year lost with Lepreau compared to them, so there’s potential there,” he said.

However Green MLA David Coon says he worries about the price of the potential power purchase agreement that ratepayers will ultimately be responsible for. Since NB Power currently owns Lepreau, the only cost of the electricity generated is operational which is mixed in with the rest of the operational costs in its asset portfolio.

“Lots of questions,” he said. “It’s why I raise the issue of transparency. NB Power needs to start showing their hand in terms of their objective here, what that’s going to look like.”

While Point Lepreau is on track for a successful year, a planned 100-day outage in April means that at most, the plant will only be able to hit 70 per cent capacity in the next fiscal year. The outage is part of several planned over the next few years to continue repairing the non-nuclear part of the plant in a bid to improve its long-term efficiency and is expected to cost $120 million in capital costs.

Some additional costs for replacement power may be incurred as well, but timing of the shutdown coincides with the spring freshet, one of the best times of year for the Mactaquac dam.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that OPG operates six CANDU reactors. The actual number is 10.