When the nuclear plant was shut down in March 2008, the company officials said the refurbishment would span 18 months and cost $1.4bn. The refurbishment, however, took more than four years and another billion dollars later.
The utility is hoping the repairs would extend the Point Lepreau’s life by 27 years, supplying about one-third of the province’s power needs.
NB Power president Gaetan Thomas was quoted by CTV News as saying that the nuclear station will be a valuable asset and a great investment for $2.4bn.
"We are still going to be able to produce clean energy from Point Lepreau — over 700 megawatts — for less than nine cents per kilowatt hour and that makes it a very competitive option," Gaetan added.
The Point Lepreau power plant is the only nuclear facility located in Atlantic Canada and includes one CANDU nuclear reactor, which has a net capacity of 635MW.
