Report urges power-short Ontario to go nuclear

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Note:  I'll be out of the country March 25 - April 11. I do not 

expect to be mailing any news distributions during this time



Index:



Report urges power-short Ontario to go nuclear

Idled Bruce Power nukes could be on stream by 2007

============================



Report urges power-short Ontario to go nuclear



TORONTO, March 18 (Reuters) - Ontario's sickly electricity sector 

needs a strong jolt of nuclear power with money from the private 

sector, a report said on Thursday, urging that one nuclear reactor 

should restart next year at a cost of up to C$600 million ($450 

million) to ease a supply crunch.



The report, on future Ontario power needs, said Ontario Power 

Generation, the debt-ridden, provincially owned power producer, 

should be broken up into a nuclear unit and one that handles 

electricity from hydro and fossil-fuel sources.



The study warned that Ontario, Canada's most populous province, could 

face a severe power shortage by 2007 if new capacity does not come on 

board.



The report was commissioned by the provincial government and drawn up 

by John Manley, Canada's former deputy prime minister. It said 

Ontario Power should sell non-core assets like solar and wind power 

to strengthen its focus.



The emphasis on nuclear power comes at a time of serious concerns 

about Ontario's existing reactors, some of which are mothballed or 

running well below capacity, or have seen massive cost overruns for 

refurbishment.



But Manley insisted that nuclear, which generates about half of 

Ontario's power, would prevent the need for costly electricity 

imports during peak periods.



"There is nothing inherent in Canadian companies that says they can't 

run nuclear (reactors), when the Finns, the French, the Americans and 

the Koreans can," Manley said. "Let's get our act together because we 

do not have a lot of other choices."



Noting that Canadian-designed nuclear plants are being build on 

budget and on schedule in China, he added: "If we can do it in China, 

surely to goodness we can do it in Ontario."



Ontario's Liberal government, elected in October, wants to shut its 

polluting coal-fired plants by 2007 -- and Manley's report backed 

that position.



But analysts have criticized the move and questioned how Ontario can 

quickly replace electricity generated from coal, which makes up about 

a quarter of current supply.



"Coal-fired plants can be much cleaner, and ultimately be replaced by 

clean coal technology, as one of the arrows in a new supply picture 

for Ontario," said Rob McLeese, president of Access Capital Corp., 

which helps power companies build generating plants.



Dwight Duncan, Ontario's energy minister, plans to create 2,800 

megawatts of new power by 2007 through a combination of conservation 

and new, cleaner plants, but that is well below the 6,240 megawatts 

that will be lost by shutting coal plants.



Manley's report comes days after an independent audit of showed 

Ontario Power was on the verge of financial collapse if its path does 

not change.



That report said that by the end of September 2003, only one of four 

shuttered units at Pickering nuclear power station had returned to 

service, at cost of C$1.25 billion -- triple the original estimate 

for just that one unit and two years behind schedule.



"You cannot allow another Pickering fiasco to occur," Manley said. 

"If you do, the credibility of the nuclear sector (in Ontario) will 

probably be irretrievably damaged."



Manley said Ontario Power, which produces about 70 percent of the 

province's electricity, should remain in public hands, but 

governments must stop interfering in its operations.



The previous Conservative government deregulated Ontario's 

electricity sector but then froze prices to appease voters after a 

public outcry. Analysts say the flip-flop

--------------------



Idled Bruce Power nukes could be on stream by 2007



TORONTO, March 18 (Reuters) - Bruce Power's chief executive said on 

Thursday that two mothballed nuclear reactors could start generating 

electricity by 2007, just in time to help Ontario cope with an supply 

crisis.



"It would not be unreasonable to expect Bruce to contribute within 

that time period," Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power's chief executive, 

told Reuters,



Ontario, whose electricity sector is languishing, plans to shut all 

its coal-fired plants by 2007 to combat pollution. The move will cut 

about a quarter of the province's generating capacity



Hawthorne's comments came on the heels of a key report that warned 

that Ontario needs to beef up nuclear generation if it is to meet 

growing demand.



The report, commissioned by the ruling Liberal Party, which came to 

power in October, said the province should seek private money for 

nuclear ventures.



Jerry Grandey, chief executive of uranium giant Cameco Corp. , one of 

the owners of Bruce Power, told Reuters that Cameco currently has no 

plans for investing in other nuclear properties in Ontario, despite 

the strong vote of confidence for nuclear power in the province's 

future.



Earlier this year, Bruce Power, whose owners also include pipeline 

company TransCanada Corp. and BPC Generation trust, said it was 

conducting a feasibility study on restarting Bruce A units 1 and 2. 

Bruce Power has eight nuclear reactors, six of which are in service.



Grandey said Bruce Power commissioned the study "in anticipation of 

the government coming to the realization that nuclear must play a 

strong role in the future."



The report, chaired by former Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, 

urged the province to restart one of three idled units at Pickering A 

by 2005 to lessen a looming supply crunch. The Pickering station is 

owned by Ontario Power Generation, the provincially owned utility 

that generates about 70 percent of the province's electricity.



The Pickering unit's restart should cost up to C$600 million ($450 

million), the report said.



"If (the province) proceeds with our advice, (the Pickering unit) 

could be in operation in 2005," Manley said. " (The unit) at 

Pickering is much further advanced than the Bruce units."



Allan Kupcis, chairman of the Canadian Nuclear Association, said the 

report's recommendations on nuclear power are "totally feasible if 

you look at the broader world context", with China, Finland, France, 

Korea and the United States generating electricity from nuclear 

sources.



However, critics said shutting coal plants could cause economic 

damage in the short term.



""We agree that nuclear is the future, but there has to be a short-

term plan, said Ian Howcroft, Ontario vice-president of the Canadian 

Manufacturers and Exporters. "Eliminating coal by 2007 without any 

contingency is a risk the Ontario government must not take."



Provincial Energy Minister Dwight Duncan already has plans to create 

2,800 megawatts of new electricity by 2007 from conservation efforts 

and non-coal sources. But that falls short of the 6,240 megawatts of 

power Ontario will lose by shutting the coal plants.



------------------------------------

Sandy Perle

Vice President, Technical Operations

Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.

3300 Hyland Avenue

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100  Extension 2306

Fax:(714) 668-3149



E-Mail: sperle@globaldosimetry.com

E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net



Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/

Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.globaldosimetry.com/



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