NB Power turning to Ontario Power Generation to improve performance at nuclear power plant

NB Power is replacing its chief nuclear officer and bringing in three employees from Ontario Power Generation in a bid to improve performance at the ailing plant.

New Brunswick power is enlisting the help of Ontario Power Generation to help tackle poor performance at one of its largest generation assets.

A three-year contract will have three OPG employees working at the Point Lepreau nuclear generation station in order to help improve reliability and performance, costing just over $2 million a year.

CEO Lori Clark told the legislature’s public accounts committee that an unplanned outage at the plant earlier this year wiped out all profits generated by the utility, leading to another year of losses.

“I always say plus or minus $50 million is break even for us and when we have a significant event, whether it’s a storm or a significant unplanned outage at one of our generating stations that impacts our ability to hit our financial targets,” she said.

The shakeup will also see the departure of chief nuclear officer (CNO) Brett Plummer, who was brought in by the utility in 2017 to improve performance at Point Lepreau, but the facility has struggled to meet performance targets, placing significant financial pressure on the utility.

Clark will take over as CNO due to requirements in the Electricity Act that say the utility must have a permanent CNO. As part of the deal OPG’s CNO Steve Gregoris will provide advice and expertise on how to manage the asset.

Clark says that OPG’s experience in successfully running six Candu reactors will be invaluable as the utility looks to improve the reliability and performance.

“We get access to OPG’s expertise in operations, work management, outages, and other areas of their operation where we have questions about how we improve in certain areas,” she said.