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[cdn-nucl-l] Bruce Power Cost Climbs 38% for Ontario Nuclear Units' Restart
FYI
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>From Bloomberg.com
Bruce Power Cost Climbs 38% for Ontario Nuclear Units' Restart
By Gene Laverty
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Cameco Corp., the world's
biggest uranium miner, said the cost of starting two reactors at a nuclear
power plant it runs in Ontario will climb by as much as C$150 million ($104
million).
The cost of restarting the two Bruce A units, which it owns with TransCanada
PipeLines Ltd. and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Fund, will be
between C$525 million and C$550 million, Cameco said in a statement. The
original cost of the restart was to be C$400 million.
The increased costs are being caused by efforts to have the units in service
by summer, Cameco said. Summer air-conditioning use in Ontario drives up
power demand and prices.
Bruce A will generate as much as 1,500 megawatts of electricity when the
startup is complete in June. Power from the Bruce generating complex sold
for an average $57 a megawatt in the first quarter, Cameco said. A megawatt
is enough to light about 800 average U.S. homes.
Bruce Power LP added C$33 million, or 59 cents a share, to Cameco's
first-quarter profit, the company said in a statement. TransCanada said in
its first-quarter report its profit from the partnership was C$27 million.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Cameco, TransCanada and the Ontario Municipal
Employees Retirement Fund bought British Energy Plc's 82.4 percent stake in
the Bruce Power partnership for C$627 million in February after the U.K.
company couldn't meet financial obligations to renew its licenses.
Output at the Bruce generating station will be reduced in the second quarter
when maintenance is performed on two of its units.
Cameco shares rose $1.07 cents, or 3.1 percent, to C$35.85 at 3:49 p.m. on
the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company will release its full first-quarter
results on Thursday.
Shares of Calgary-based TransCanada, the nation's biggest pipeline company,
rose 34 cents to C$22.80. It released its first- quarter results today.
Last Updated: April 25, 2003 15:54 EDT