From Bruce Power:
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Power level raised on Bruce B Unit 6
CNSC approval given to increase reactor power to 93 per cent
TIVERTON, ON - April 23, 2004 - Bruce Power expects to generate an additional 26 MW, or enough electricity to supply up to 26,000 typical homes, after the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved a three per cent power increase on Bruce B Unit 6.
Raising reactor power to 93 per cent on Unit 6 is part of Bruce Power's long-term Improved Output Program to enhance safety and reliability of all four Bruce B units. Other initiatives, which include turbine generator upgrades, a new fuel design and improvements to the reactor core, are expected to result in an increase of up to 400 MW of clean electricity over the next four years from Bruce B.
"This initial power increase on Unit 6 is the culmination of a lot of work on our site and comes at a time when every megawatt of power counts in Ontario," said Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We see it as our responsibility to continually seek out improvements to our safety and operational performance and that's what our Improved Output Project is all about."
When Bruce Power assumed operational control of the site, the Bruce B units were operating at 90 per cent reactor power in order to ensure safety margins met the requirements of the CNSC. Over the past two years, extensive analysis has shown that fuel-loading modifications and a decrease in the number of bundles from 13 to 12 in each fuel channel enhances reactor safety margins. Following a thorough review and implementation of these changes, the CNSC has approved the power increase.
"Increasing the power level on Unit 6 is the first step in our program, but it's a significant milestone for us," Hawthorne said. "The fastest way to get new megawatts to the Ontario grid is to improve the performance of the units you already have. By taking an innovative look at our own operations, we are now adding enough new power to supply all the homes in our surrounding communities without having to build anything new."
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From preliminary IEMO data, the net output from Bruce 6 has increased to an average of about 835 MWe net from ~ 805 MWe net (It's officially listed at 795 MWe net). While recognizing this is preliminary data, and assuming 55 MWe internal consumption, this means it is running at 890 MWe gross, or ~97% of full (915 MWe gross) power. The reactors were derated by Ont Hydro to 840 MWe gross on Jan 1 1998.
Unit 6 has been running at an average of 100.5% (based on 795 MWe net) since Sept 10, 2003 when the IEMO started publishing daily (preliminary) updates.
Morgan Brown