On January 15, 2020, Bruce Power released its first-ever Ontario Energy Report (the "Report") at the Toronto Board of Trade to mark the beginning of the next phase of the company's Life-Extension Program (the "Program"). The Program, which began on January 1, 2016, will continue through 2053. The next step of this Program includes the Major Component Replacement (MCR) Project, which will refurbish the Unit 6 nuclear reactor in 2020 and extend the life of Units 3-8 over a period of 13 years. Unit 6 was taken offline on January 20, 2020 in order to commence its refurbishment.
In addition to listing Bruce Power's achievements and objectives, the Report contains several highlights related to the Ontario electricity sector and the influence of nuclear power on the Province, including:
- Nuclear power continues to be the workhorse in Ontario, and was responsible for supplying over 60 per cent of the province's electricity needs in 2019;
- Ontario's residential electricity rates rank among the lowest in developed countries and almost 30 per cent below the 2018 world average of 17.33 cents/kWh. The Report attributes this largely to Ontario's nuclear fleet;
- Ontario's provincial long-term debt associated to electricity infrastructure is lower per capita than many neighboring jurisdictions; and
- Ontario's off-coal program, which was supported by the province's revitalization of nuclear reactors, could be a model for other jurisdictions wishing to lower greenhouse gas emissions from their electricity sectors as Ontario was the first jurisdiction in North America to end its use of coal-fired electricity – a milestone reached in 2014.
The full report is available here.
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