Bruce Power’s Unit 7 this week surpassed one year of continuous operation, providing clean, reliable and low-cost electricity to people, businesses and health-care facilities in Ontario.
“Unit 7 joins Unit 3 and Unit 1 as reactors that have established reliability milestones since April for long-running, predictable service,” said Chris Mudrick, Bruce Power’s recently named Executive Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer. “Our continued success to provide a dependable source of power to the province is the result of a commitment to excellence and hard work by our employees and supply-chain partners.”
In the fall of 2021, Unit 7 is scheduled for a planned maintenance inspection program that will include a harvest of Cobalt-60, a medical isotope that will be used for medical purposes around the world. Access to Cobalt-60 has taken on a great urgency with the COVID-19 outbreak because of its effectiveness and reliability in sterilizing drapes, gowns, surgical gloves, scalpels and other single-use medical devices cleaned by radiation sterilization.
Unit 7 has been generating clean electricity for Ontarians since 1986 and is part of Bruce Power’s Life-Extension Program and along with five other units will undergo Major Component Replacement, adding 30 years of life to the reactors. The Unit 6 Major Component Replacement began earlier this year and will be followed by Unit 3, scheduled to begin in 2023.
Of the 6,400 megawatts (MW) of capacity, Bruce Power is able to provide 2,400 MW of flexibility, which can be utilized by the province when demand decreases. The company is able to achieve this flexibility through enhancements it made to the non-nuclear side of the plant.
Nuclear power accounts for more than 60 per cent of Ontario’s supply, with Bruce Power providing more than 30 per cent of the province’s electricity at 30 per cent less than the average cost to generate residential power.
About Bruce Power
Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an electricity company based in Bruce County, Ontario. We are powered by our people. Our 4,200 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable, low-cost nuclear power to families and businesses across the province. Bruce Power has worked hard to build strong roots in Ontario and is committed to protecting the environment and supporting the communities in which we live. Learn more at www.brucepower.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
