N.B. energy minister concerned about power shortages as Point Lepreau remains offline

New Brunswick’s Point Lepreau is still closed after months of maintenance work.

The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station was supposed to be back online earlier this week after an almost five-month maintenance shutdown, but New Brunswick’s power utility says a problem with a bearing has delayed the restart.

Chief nuclear officer Steve Bagshaw says the problem was found while the station was undergoing tests last week.

“During that testing, we did find an issue on the non-nuclear side of our station. And where we are today, we’re progressing through the replacement of a bearing on our turbine generator system,” said Bagshaw. “It’s no different than a bearing you might find in your car. The difference for us is our bearing is about the size of your car and weighs well over 4,000 pounds.”

The scheduled maintenance shutdown started in mid-July and Bagshaw said the team has completed more than 23,000 tasks during that time.

He says the hope is to get Point Lepreau operating before the end of the month, but safety remains the top priority.

The timing is key as winter weather has set in. Temperatures are expected to feel like almost -30 C Thursday night in some parts of the Maritimes.

Speaking to reporters at the legislature Thursday, Minister of Energy René Legacy didn’t mince words about how concerned he is regarding the province’s energy security.

“There’s shortage of generation capacity. There’s also, if this is a very regional, cold snap, then our neighbors might be in the same situation. And this is the regular conversation that we’re having, around do we do energy security? I know we often talk about 2028. I’m concerned that 2028, maybe the outdate. It maybe shorter,” he said.

The year 2028 has been discussed as the year New Brunswick could run out of power during a peak demand event, like a cold snap.

That’s why NB Power is banking on the proposed 400-megawatt natural gas plant, slated for Tantramar.

That plant, which would be built and run by U.S. company ProEnergy, hasn’t been met with much support in the area.

Legacy says it needs Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) approvals by April 1 because that’s around the deadline ProEnergy has given NB Power to get those approvals.

The EUB hearing on the matter is scheduled in early February.

“So, we’re going to let the process happen,” he said.

On Prince Edward Island, Maritime Electric has made plans should it need to rely on “rotating power outages” this winter, according to documents it filed with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.

When asked if New Brunswick would ever consider something like that, Legacy didn’t rule it out.

“Well, that’s one of the solutions. If there’s no power, it’s better to plan it than just have it happen. I haven’t been made aware of what Maritime Electric and how long or when they’re going to do it, but it’s happening across the world. So to pretend that it may not happen here, I think, would be imprudent,” he said.

Point Lepreau is scheduled for another maintenance shutdown in the spring for 119 days.

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