Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station to begin planned maintenance outage - September 2020

2020-09-04

Fredericton, N.B. – Tonight the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station (PLNGS) will be taken offline to begin a planned maintenance outage that is currently projected to take approximately six to seven weeks. Today also marks 417 consecutive days online for the Station, the longest continuous plant operation between outages since 1994.

The timing of planned maintenance Outage 2020, originally scheduled to begin April 10, was adjusted in response to the circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Closely following the expert advice of industry operating experiencing, and federal and provincial health departments, the Station has implemented extensive COVID-19 mitigation protocols, processes and related infrastructure to ensure the continued mitigation of potential risks from the coronavirus.  

The work to be completed in Outage 2020 is diverse, with jobs on equipment and systems on both the nuclear and conventional parts of the Station. Planned activities include routine maintenance, repairs, system modifications, inspections and testing that can only be conducted when the unit is offline.

Staff will perform more than 15,000 activities with help from approximately 600 contractors and tradespeople, the large majority of who are from Atlantic Canada. Planned outages of this nature are key investments to ensure the long-term reliability of PLNGS to meet the energy needs of New Brunswickers.

About the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station

The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station is a 660 megawatt (net) nuclear generating station and a base load contributor to the New Brunswick electrical grid. It produces enough non-emitting electricity to power more than 333,000 homes per year and is a foundational piece of both our domestic energy supply and our export sales. Point Lepreau is a major component of the generating assets that contributes to the province having 80 per cent of the electricity used in New Brunswick coming from clean, renewable or non-emitting sources.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Marc Belliveau, Communications, (506) 458-4203 or mbelliveau@nbpower.co