Point Lepreau back online at 100% power

The Point Lepreau nuclear generating station is operating at full power again after a problem with one of the turbine system pumps on the non-nuclear side over the weekendwas resolved.

The plant was synchronized to the grid on Wednesday, and power was gradually increased to 100 per cent while completing the required testing to ensure all systems are operating as per design, NB Power said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

We are pleased that our team of nuclear professionals was able to quickly identify and fix the equipment issues, said Sean Granville, site vice-president and chief nuclear officer for NB Power.

Lepreau is expected to continue to operate at full power, putting about 660 megawatts on the provincial electricity grid, until early May, when it will be shutdown again for planned maintenance, he said.

The maintenance outage is scheduled to take 45 days.

Maintenance and inspection activities will take place on both the nuclear and conventional sides of the plant.

Workers will also make several modifications to the station,related to compliance to the latest Canadian Standards Association fire standards, as well as implement improvements related to emergency preparedness that were identified by the nuclear industry following the accident at Fukushima.

Lepreau went offline on the evening of April 5.

All safety systems functioned properly during the incident and there was no impact on staff, the public, or the environment, officials had said.