Bruce Power announced $1.3-billion MCR contract

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Bruce Power has announced a major contract for the remaining Major Component Replacement projects at its site near Tiverton.

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The company announced May 11 that it had awarded a $1.3 billion contract to Shoreline Power Group for fuel channel and feeder replacement for the MCR projects in units 4, 5, 6 and 7.

“We’re pleased to be able to partner with Shoreline Power Group for the entirety of our Major Component Replacement project over the next decade to perform the major component replacement  portion of our Life Extension Program,” Bruce Power President and CEO Mike Rencheck said in a news release. “Part of Shoreline’s commitment is to deliver the next two MCRs more efficiently and cost-effectively than the previous one leveraging our lessons learned and best practices. Our Life Extension program when completed will provide clean energy for the people of Ontario and lifesaving medical isotopes to the world.”

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Last week, Bruce Power announced it had achieved substantial completion of its Unit 6 MCR project on time and on budget. That project began in early 2020 and is the first of six MCR programs being undertaken at the site. On Thursday, Bruce Power said it had commenced loading fuel into the unit and is on track to resume the production of energy and isotopes later this year.

The second MCR in the program began March 1 when Unit 3 was removed from service.

Shoreline Power Group, which is a joint venture between Aecon, SNC-Lavalin and United Engineers and Constructors, completed the fuel channel and feeder replacement for Unit 6, and was also previously awarded the contract to do the same on Unit 3.

“This contract award underscores the success of our long-term partnership with Bruce Power and we are proud to achieve substantial completion on Unit 6,” Aecon Group Inc. president and CEO Jean-Louis Servranckx said on behalf of Shoreline Power Group. “The success of the Unit 6 refurbishment is a testament to the incredible work of our dedicated team and trades. We look forward to working with our partners to execute the remainder of this crucial project with an unwavering commitment to safety, quality, schedule and cost performance.”

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Bruce Power, the world’s largest operating nuclear facility, is refurbishing units 3-8 between 2020 and 2033, extending the operational life of each unit by 30 to 35 years and extending the life of the site to 2064 and beyond. The work is to directly and indirectly support 22,000 jobs annually and inject $4 billion into Ontario’s economy, the company has said.

Bruce Power, which is a partnership of TC Energy, OMERS, the Power Workers’ Union and the Society of United Professionals, was formed in 2001 and now employs 4,200 people. The company refurbished its Units 1 and 2 and brought them back online in 2012, setting operational milestones since.