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[cdn-nucl-l] Society of Energy Professionals letter in Globe and Mail on Pickering A
FYI
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Nuclear reactions
By Andrew Muller
President, the Society of Energy Professionals
Friday, September 26, 2003 - Page 14
Toronto --
On behalf of the Society of Energy Professionals, I'd like to say that we
enjoyed reading Eric Reguly's September column, "Nuke nightmare," even if we
didn't agree with every point. Our take is that the problems at Pickering A,
Canada's oldest CANDU reactor, began with the dismantling of Ontario Hydro's
design and construction division, which was supposed to refurbish the
reactor. Coupled with the Tories' fetish for contracting out work and
privatization, the die was cast. That said, the Pickering A units are not
"pigs." In their day, they performed very well, but while Ontario Hydro was
concentrating on production, maintenance was neglected. Furthermore, the
units were not shut down "for an overhaul that went terribly wrong"; rather,
it was so that Hydro, and then Ontario Power Generation, could concentrate
on the newer Pickering B station and the one in Darlington. Refurbishing
Pickering A will add many years to its ability to produce electricity. When
averaged over the lifespan of a reactor, the cost, even with the overruns,
begins to look competitive.