Bruce Power May Restart Two More Units

TORONTO -- - The chief executive of the Bruce Power nuclear complex in Ontario said he is open to restarting two more generating units if "a proper business case can be made" for their resurrection.

We need to see how the Ontario (electricity) market matures," chief executive Duncan Hawthorne said in a speech, which estimated the restart of the two units could cost CAN$1 billion (US$658 million).

Bruce Power started refueling two other nuclear reactors earlier this month and plans to have them in service before summer's peak demand period.

Bruce Power, a 6,140 megawatt nuclear station on Lake Huron, northwest of Toronto, has eight generation units but only four are operating currently.

It will restart Bruce A units 3 and 4 at a cost of $400 million, leaving only two units, Bruce A 1 and 2, out of operation.

The restart of Bruce A units 3 and 4 will produce about 1,500 megawatts of electricity, and increase Bruce Power's share of the electricity market in Ontario, Canada's biggest power market, to more than 20 per cent from the current 15 per cent.

Bruce Power was sold late in December to a consortium led by Cameco Corp., the world's biggest uranium producer, and TransCanada PipeLines for about $770 million by British Energy, the struggling British power company, which owned 82 per cent of Bruce Power.

Also, Hawthorne predicted that Ontario's government could end its electricity price freeze before 2006 if more power generation comes on board, media reports said.

Ontario opened its energy market to competition on May 1 but froze prices in late 2002 after they soared more than 25 per cent, angering consumers.

Ontario Power Generation's Pickering A nuclear plant is also expected to have one unit of 500 megawatts back in service by the summer, but the project is moving slowly and is over budget. OPG is owned by the province.

The price freeze has dampened hopes of investment in new generation in Ontario and also dried up interest in ownership in a minority stake in Hydro One, the province's electricity grid. Ontario's Conservative government said it had scrapped plans to sell a minority stake in Hydro One.

"If left to its own devices, I fully believe that a free market will drive down electricity prices and attract new generation to Ontario," Hawthorne said in his speech.