Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station to begin planned maintenance outage - April 2019

2019-04-05

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 five weeks. Today marks 310 consecutive days online, the longest continuous plant operation between planned outages since 1994.

PLNGS outages are scheduled to coincide with seasonal increases in water flows in the hydro system and with lower seasonal electricity demand to help offset the temporary loss of the Station’s contribution to provincial energy needs.

The work to be completed this outage 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 8,000 activities with help from approximately 500 contractors and tradespeople from New Brunswick and beyond.

Planned outages of this nature are key investments to ensure the long-term ability of PLNGS to dependably 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 will contribute to the provincial goal of having as much as 75 per cent of the electricity used in New Brunswick coming from clean, renewable or non-emitting sources by 2020.

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