NB Power boosts Point Lepreau's production targets

NB Power says it expects the Point Lepreau Generating Station to operate a lot better in the future than it has until now, so much better that it has increased production targets for the nuclear plant for the next two decades.

In documents filed with the Energy and Utilities Board, NB Power has added 2,734 hours to Point Lepreau's expected output between 2017 and 2039.

On paper, the move largely makes up for disappointing production numbers in its first four years of operation, although the utility points to other reasons for the change.

NB Power says it made the revision in 2013 "to reflect expected improved station reliability."

Brent Staeben, a spokesman for the utility, says NB Power is implementing changes to limit problems that may develop in the future and so has increased the plant's expected output.

"These changes are based on the higher goals of our improvement plan for the station," said Staeben.

Point Lepreau is budgeted to operate for 210,000 "effective full power hours" over 27 years. But the reactor has already fallen short of production targets in each of its first three years.

In addition, the plant was shut down for the first 19 days of April this year for unscheduled repairs, meaning production targets in year four are also already out of reach.

To account for some of those problems, and an expanded maintenance shutdown scheduled for next spring, NB Power has lowered the plant's expected operation during its first five years by nearly 3,000 hours from the original plan filed with the Energy and Utilities Board in 2012.

The new plan has Point Lepreau slowly clawing that lost production back over the following two decades.

Originally expected to operate at 88.9 per cent capacity between 2017 and 2039, NB Power now says the reactor will perform at 90.3 per cent over that 22-year stretch.

There are no specific reasons given for the expected improvement, just that the utility is working to make the station more reliable.

It is unclear whether the Energy and Utilities Board will endorse the more optimistic outlook for Point Lepreau's later years.

In 2013, the regulatory board said it would review Point Lepreau's performance and revisit the "appropriateness of the estimated lifespan of the refurbished plant during each rate case."

NB Power has a rate hearing in front of the EUBscheduled for June.