HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-02-05, Page 3COMPANV
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Hawthorne addresses your questions
CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 1
One listener questioned the impact a
provincial election would have on future
refurbishments. Hawthorne said "all par-
ties have obvious areas where they disa-
gree on energy" issues. The incumbent
Liberals are in support of nuclear and its
energy plan, New Democrats aren't sup-
portive of new build, but are open to
refurbishments, and his main concern
wasn't what party was in power, but the
issues it may cause while the transaction
is finalized.
"I'm less concerned with the outcome
and more on the delay an election would
create," he said. "There's a lot going for us
regardless of who's in power and we have
to live with whatever political outcome.
We have to do our business regardless of
who's in office:'
Questioned about the overlap in time-
lines for refurbishment of both Darling-
ton nuclear units and Bruce B, and how
manpower would be managed, Haw-
thorne said "they've looked long and
hard" at the issue and are confident the
refurbishments are "spaced out so they're
not sitting right on top of one another."
"But there will be some degree of over-
lap," he said.
But Hawthorne said Bruce Power is
confident it will be a "location of choice"
for tradespeople, as the company knows
who has experience working on site and
they know how many boilermakers, iron
workers and millwrights are needed
based on the experience gained from the
Bruce Al & 2 Restart.
"Those people would happily come
back to work in our community," he
said.
Another listener asked what educa-
tional options local families could look
into if they're interested gaining the edu-
cation required to secure job opportuni-
ties at Bruce Power.
Hawthorne said engineering and
"craft" backgrounds would be his top
selections, but added there are jobs of all
kinds at the site.
"I just tell people, be persistent," he
said, noting 4,250 employees currently
work at the site, up from 2,980 when the
company took over in 2001.
Hawthorne said technical careers offer
many "exciting, innovative opportuni-
ties" in things like robotics, which the
company supports locally through the
Kinetic Knights Robotics Team.
The site marked the full operation of all
eight units at the Bruce nuclear site in
2013, achieving its 6,300 MVV production
peak and making it the largest operating
nuclear facility in the world. Regarding a
question about the cancellation of Dar-
lington's new nuclear build and Ontario's
lack of need for new nuclear stations,
Hawthorne outlined the positivity of
nuclear's role the Liberal's Long Term
Energy Plan, in comparison to the static
status of gas plans, coal's decline and
how nuclear can look at providing the
"same role" as it currently does into the
future.
The moderator also noted that Bruce
Power recently joined twitter @
bruce_power and created a new Face -
book account to interact with the public.
Hawthorne said during the coldest
days of winter nuclear power in Ontario
supplies 65-70% of the electricity, with
wind and solar contracts playing a much
smaller role. He said significant
contracts have been signed with wind
and solar providers, which are causing
prices of electricity to increase in
Ontario, which he said is out of both his
and Bruce Power's hands.
"Whether you love it or hate it, there's
been a significant chance in the amount
generated by (wind and solar)," he said,
adding that as a result
the Ontario power
grid, "...is over-
supplied at certain
times of the year."
One listener
questioned how
much public money
is funding Bruce
Power, to which
Hawthorne clarified
he operates a private
company that is paid by Ontario to
produce electricity, while leasing the
nuclear site. He said the only public
money being paid to Bruce Power is for
the electricity it produces and sells to
the province and stressed in another
question that the company is wholly-
owned by Canadian companies.
Hawthorne said Bruce B charges
Ontario 5.2 cents per kilowatt hour, and
6.8 cents for Bruce A ($5 billion
investment), with wind power at 12
cents and solar at 40 cents, making
Bruce Power "very competitive price -
wise."
"Even with another $15 billion
investment the price will still be less
than seven cents (per kilowatt hour)," he
said, but added Ontario's prices will still
see increases to cover the province's
-
Duncan
Hawthorne
electricity infrastructure renewal. "But
(Bruce Power prices) still makes us a
very cost -competitive option."
In regards to talk of nuclear waste
repositories for low and intermediate
level nuclear waste (Ontario Power Gen-
eration) and used nuclear fuel (Nuclear
Waste Management Organization), Haw-
thorne said Bruce Power has no role or
say in the storage or "treatment" any
sources. He said a portion of Bruce Pow-
er's payment to Ontario for leasing the
nuclear site goes towards the long-term
future decommissioning of the site, as
well as the treatment of waste, beyond
the 2050 lifespan of the site if and when
the refurbishments go ahead.
When asked if Bruce Power was pre-
pared for a Fukushima-like nuclear dis-
aster, Hawthorne said CANDU reactors
differ in technology, the site is not seismi-
cally active and the company has worked
with federal regulators at the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission to top up
preparations for worst-case scenarios.
Hawthorne said the company is work-
ing on a second mobile application, and
also launched a new e -newsletter availa-
ble at www.brucepower.com/
community
"We wanted it to be interactive and
conversational as we're very interested in
hearing from our communities to ensure
we're doing everything possible to get
people the information they need," he
said in a media release Wednesday.
The company's annual review, also
released Jan. 28, is posted on the Bruce
Power website at www.brucepower.
com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/
Annual-Review-2013-web.pdf and print
versions are available at the Bruce Power
Visitors' Centre.
For those who missed the call, an
audio recording of the session will be
posted to Bruce Power's website ( www.
brucepower.com) by Monday, Feb. 3.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 • Lucknow Sentinel 3
Bruce B sectors owned
by Borealis Infrastructure
Troy Patterson
QMI Agency
Bruce Power has a new
majority owner for Bruce
B, with Borealis Infra-
structure buying out
Cameco's 31.6% stake for
$450 million to become
56.1% owner.
Bruce Power said it was
"pleased" to announce
the restructuring of its
partnership Friday, which
they said will support the
company's goal of supply-
ing about 30% of Ontario's
energy needs as outlined
in the province's Long
Term Energy Plan (LTEP).
"Cameco played a criti-
cal role in the formation
of Bruce Power in 2001
and have been a strong
partner, contributing
greatly to the success of
the site," said Duncan
Hawthorne Bruce Power's
President and CEO.
"However, the outlook of
both Bruce Power and
Cameco has evolved and
this is a unique opportu-
nity for Bruce Power to
turn our policy position
in the LTEP into action,
while Cameco can focus
on its role as a world
leader in the nuclear fuel
market through this
restructuring," added
Hawthorne.
CONTINUED > PAGE 6
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