Together we will #PowerOn: Hats off to the many people across the Bruce area who are taking extraordinary measures to keep essential services running through the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s recognize our health-care professionals and volunteers, emergency responders, people in the food industry and municipal public works, elected leaders, the media who keep us informed, and many others. Thanks to those doing their part, including all who are self-isolating, physical-distancing and hand-washing to help keep others safe.
At Ontario Power Generation, our priority is to keep the lights on, continuing to provide half of Ontario’s electricity, while focusing as always on safety for our employees and the public, As OPG CEO Ken Hartwick wrote in his recent letter to the public: Our employees “are dedicated to their jobs. They also know that, now more than ever, their efforts can provide a sense of continuity, something you can count on.”
You may have read in recent news coverage that OPG is donating over half a million masks to support front-line health care workers. In addition, OPG is now also donating 17,500 Tyvek suits to the province for health-care use. Such suits offer protection against hazards including liquid, oils, chemicals and airborne disease.
At the Western Waste Management Facility, within the Bruce nuclear site, we continue to safely accept, process and store waste from the generating stations, as required to keep the reactors running, while setting aside other work that can safely be deferred. Many of our employees are working from home, following all provincial directives and guidance from health authorities. Through all the current challenges, from daily waste operations to collaborative project planning, OPG’s local team also continues to work closely with Bruce Power.
Around Ontario and beyond:
- Refurbishment milestone: OPG and its project partners have completed construction on the Unit 2 reactor of Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. The unit will now begin the restart process before being connected to the electricity grid, subject to regulatory approval. Start of the refurbishment of Unit 3, originally scheduled for May, is temporarily deferred due to COVID-19.
- Financial results: OPG reported year-end net income for 2019 of $1,126 million, another strong financial return to the province of Ontario, due to OPG’s good performance in electrical generation while remaining one of the lowest-cost generators in Ontario.
- Living her dream: In a continuing series of stories that celebrates our employees, OPG puts the spotlight on service-trades maintainer Amanda Jacobs, who hails from the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne. Growing up, she always had her sights set on working at the OPG’s nearby R.H. Saunders hydro station, on the St. Lawrence River in Cornwall – a dream she has achieved.
