Media Release
For release September 24, 2002
 

Ottawa – Environmentalists are lauding the New Brunswick Public Utilities Board’s recommendation that the Point Lepreau nuclear station not be refurbished at an estimated cost of $845 million. Arguing that there are significant risks of cost escalation, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has recommended to the provincially owned utility, New Brunswick Power, that it not rebuild the Point Lepreau station. Point Lepreau began operation in 1984, and without refurbishment, it will likely be closed in 2006.

“This is a victory for the people of New Brunswick” stated David Thompson of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick. “If NB Power makes the right decision, we can put the dangers and high cost of nuclear power behind us and develop safe and sustainable energy alternatives.”

The closure of Point Lepreau in 2006 would be a major blow to the credibility of the Canadian nuclear energy industry. Currently, only Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick have nuclear reactors. Eight of Ontario’s twenty reactors have been shut down since 1997 because of poor performance and safety problems. Attempts to restart the four Pickering A reactors in Ontario have been delayed three years and cost over-runs continue to mount. Similar to New Brunswick, Québec’s only nuclear reactor, Gentilly 2, must be refurbished or shut down in 2008.

“The nuclear industry’s house of cards is collapsing” stated Dave Martin, Nuclear Policy Advisor for the Sierra Club of Canada. “Nuclear power is a financial basket case, and can only survive with subsidies. As the Public Utilities Board rightly noted, risking public money on nuclear energy is not in the public interest.”

In its ruling, the PUB argued that New Brunswick Power has seriously underestimated the economic risks of refurbishing the Point Lepreau plant. “New Brunswick regulators are smart to be skeptical” stated Martin. “The cost of rebuilding the four Pickering A reactors in Ontario has skyrocketed from $800 million to $2 billion.”

According to Dr. Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, the Public Utilities Board decision sets an excellent precedent against the refurbishment of the Gentilly 2 in Québec. “Gentilly 2 and Point Lepreau are twins,” he stated. “If rebuilding Point Lepreau doesn’t make financial sense, it makes even less sense in Quebec where nuclear power is already the most expensive electricity source.” Dr. Edwards also noted that recent economic collapse of British Energy is, yet again, more proof that nuclear energy is an economic non-starter.

“This should be a sign for the federal government,” stated Shawn-Patrick Stensil of the Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout. “After 50 years and $17 billion in federal subsidies, nuclear energy doesn’t pass the economic test. We need to cut subsidies to the nuclear industry and support the development of safe and sustainable energy alternatives.”

The Public Utility Board recommendation will now be brought to the New Brunswick Power’s Board of Directors and the provincial government.

For further information please contact:

Shawn-Patrick Stensil, National Coordinator, Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout, 613-789-3634 (Ottawa)
David Martin, Research Director, Sierra Club of Canada, 905-852-0571 (Uxbridge)
Dr. Gordon Edwards, President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, 514-853-5736 (Montreal)
David Coon, Policy Director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, 506-458-8747 (Fredricton)
David Thompson, Director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, 506-659-2363 (Saint John)

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