Update on Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station

2024-10-28

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 maintenance to equipment replacement. 

 During start-up protocol, a critical issue was identified with the main generator which is located on the non-nuclear side of the station—an area that was not worked on during the outage. This issue needed to be addressed prior to returning the Station online.   

Our team has been working diligently, with the support of national and international experts, to assess and address the situation.  This has been a very complex task, and NB Power left no stone unturned in understanding the problem and the repair options.  

Once the initial issue was discovered with a stator bar within the generator, NB Power conducted extensive testing on all stator bars and identified that five others were showing signs of degradation. An independent investigation has determined that the cause of this issue is a manufacturer’s defect that occurred during the maintenance of the generator in 2010.  

We made the decision to repair all six bars while the Station is offline to ensure continued safe operations and prevent potential issues in the future. In order to access the stator bars, we had to safely and meticulously disassemble part of the generator assembly including the removal of the generator rotor. The stator bars and other internal components are delicate and strict manufacturer’s precautionary measures must be followed. 

We are pleased to report that repairs have been completed on all six stator bars and that the generator reassembly is underway. This involves several verification steps and thorough testing to ensure that all components are precisely aligned and secured. 

 Once that is complete, in the coming weeks, we will begin start-up activities, including station equipment checks and testing protocol. 

The timeline for full return to service will be determined by how these activities progress, and we are currently anticipating a full return to service in December.  

We are pleased that the station will be back online for the winter heating season to ensure New Brunswickers have the energy they need when they need it.   

The full cost implications of the extended outage will not be known until the station is back online and all necessary maintenance operations have concluded. We are examining every option to reduce costs for New Brunswick customers, including exploring if these costs can be recovered through our corporate insurance policies. 

We are committed to safety and operational excellence and will continue to keep the public informed as we move forward. 

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