Power shortfall worsens, IMO says

Toronto Star - May 29, 2003
by John Spears - Business Reporter

Ontario's electricity supply will be even lower than expected for the next three months, warns the agency responsible for matching the province's power supply and demand.

That means Ontario will have to rely more on imports to keep lights on and air conditioners humming through the summer, says an update from the Independent Electricity Market Operator, or IMO.

Previously announced delays in returning the mothballed Pickering A nuclear station to service are only part of the reason for the supply problems, says the IMO.

In addition, there have been unexpected problems at other generating plants that had been taken out of service for routine maintenance. These plants, which the IMO doesn't identify, will return to service later than planned. The generator problems will combine with normal summer operating difficulties. River levels fall during the hot weather, which means that output from hydro generating stations declines.

Nuclear reactors have to throttle back during the summer because they are cooled with lake water. As lake temperatures rise, the water cools less efficiently and production often has to be curbed.

"These changes reduce the available resources, particularly over the months of June, July and August," the IMO says.

Normally during the summer, the IMO likes to have enough generators in reserve to supply about 4,000 megawatts of additional power to accommodate surges in demand on especially hot days.

In the last half of June and the first three weeks of July, reserves will fall as much as 1,300 megawatts short of that level, according to IMO projections.

Last Aug. 13, Ontario set a record high demand for power of 25,414 megawatts. The province frequently had to import 3,000 megawatts of power to keep the lights on, and on several occasions was on the verge of blackouts or brownouts.

Ontario Power Generation Inc., which owns the Pickering A nuclear generating station, has acknowledged that it will miss its June 30 target for getting the reactor back in service. It now plans to produce "substantial power" at Pickering A in July, but won't hit full power of 515 megawatts until August.

Two mothballed nuclear reactors being returned to service by Bruce Power, each 750 megawatts, will also be slightly later than planned. The first unit is now projected to return about June 14 at the earliest and the second unit in July.

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