Update to extended outage schedule at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station

2024-08-15

Since April 6, Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station has been offline while our staff undertook a necessary planned 100-day maintenance outage.

During this outage we successfully completed over 25,000 tasks, ranging from regular maintenance to pieces of aging equipment being replaced.

During start-up, a critical issue related to the main generator on the non-nuclear side of the station was identified that needs to be addressed before PLNGS can return to service. This is like when you take your vehicle in for scheduled maintenance, and while your mechanic has the hood up doing the planned work, an additional issue is identified.

It can be frustrating, but ultimately, it’s going to mean your vehicle can stay on the road safely for a longer period of time.

The full extent of this issue is still being investigated and we are working toward resolving it. While new developments can always affect schedules, our team is working toward a goal of restoring operations by mid-November. 

The outage will not affect the supply of electricity to customers. While PLNGS is offline, we are relying on our other generation units and neighbouring jurisdictions to ensure we provide power to New Brunswickers when they need it.

Maintenance and outage operations undertaken at PLNGS are incredibly complex. Our expert team leaves no stone unturned as they comprehensively evaluate the station’s technical operations and inner workings to ensure its safe operation. We have subject matter experts from across Canada and the United States helping us with this extremely important work.

While the station is not operating, we are using this time to do other work that cannot be done during normal station operations. This will have additional longer-term benefits to making the facility more efficient and effective.

As always, all work performed during this maintenance outage is being conducted following rigorous safety protocols to prevent any incidents and to maintain the highest levels of safety at PLNGS.

NB Power will continue to provide updates as this critical work continues.

MEDIA CONTACT: Dominique Couture at 506-377-8057 or dcouture@nbpower.com.