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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-02-05, Page 3COMPANV CANADA 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. FORD IS THE CANADIAN 2013 FORD F150 FAVOURITE You could save up to 810,000 RIGHT NOW #1 SELLING AUTOMOTIVE IN 4 YEARS RUNNING SEE MONTGOMERY FORD IN LUCKNOW & KINCARDINE FOR DETAILS. ,MationomERY1 Lucknow : Kincardine 519-528-2813 519-396-3436 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 SA MIEN MOBILITY and REGIONAI. 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