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Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is a
Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
and "government business enterprise" that is responsible for approximately half of the
electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stor ...
in the province of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. It is wholly owned by the
government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...
. Sources of electricity include nuclear,
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
,
wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
,
gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
and biomass. Although Ontario has an open
electricity market In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had un ...
, the provincial government, as OPG's sole shareholder, regulates the price the company receives for its electricity to be less than the market average, in an attempt to stabilize prices. Since 1 April 2008, the company's rates have been regulated by the
Ontario Energy Board The Ontario Energy Board regulates natural gas and electricity utilities in the province of Ontario, Canada. This includes setting rates, and licensing all participants in the electricity sector including the Independent Electricity System Operato ...
. On 10 June 2019, it was announced that a new corporate campus would be built in
Clarington Clarington (2021 population 101,427) is a lower-tier municipality in the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1973 as the town of Newcastle with the merging of the town of Bowmanville, the Village of Newcastl ...
, Ontario, that will also house Ontario Power Generation's headquarters.


Establishment

Ontario Power Generation was established in April 1999 as part of plans by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier
Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...
to
privatize Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
the assets of
Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...
and
deregulate Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
the province's electricity market. OPG was one of the five successor corporations to Ontario Hydro and assumed ownership of all generating stations.


Board of directors

Wendy Kei is the chairman of the board of directors. She was appointed as chairman on 27 June 2019. Ken Hartwick is the president and chief executive officer of OPG. He was appointed to this position on 1 April 2019, when the previous president and CEO, Jeffrey J. Lyash, resigned. Other current members of the board include John Herron, Selma Lussenburg, Scott McDonald, Jill Pepall, Jim Reinsch, James Sheppard, Anju Virmani, Tracy Primeau and Mary Filipelli..


Finances

The financial situation at Ontario Power Generation has improved significantly since 2003. Its profits for 2005 were $366 million, and its credit rating was upgraded. In July 2006, Liberal Energy Minister
Dwight Duncan Dwight Duncan (born 3 January 1959) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2013 who represented ridings of Windsor—Walkerville, Windsor—St. Clair and Windsor ...
described OPG's turnaround as " e of the untold stories of the last two years". On the local public relations side, OPG has won many awards for its performance as a "good corporate citizen". Most recently, OPG was named for the fourth year in a row to the
Corporate Knights Corporate Knights is a media and research company based in Toronto, Canada, focused on advancing a sustainable economy. The company publishes an award-winning magazine,  ''Corporate Knights'', and produces global rankings, research reports, ...
Top 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada. OPG regularly sponsors community events across the province and houses wildlife trails in the exclusion zones around its nuclear stations in
Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater Toro ...
. The company's annual employee charity campaign has raised millions of dollars for charities across Ontario. In October 2008, OPG was named one of "
Canada's Top 100 Employers Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual editorial competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions ...
" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in ''
Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
''. Later that month, OPG was also named one of
Greater Toronto's Top Employers Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual editorial competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions ...
, which was announced by the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...
''. OPG regularly reports on its operational, safety and environmental record. The company publishes quarterly reports summarizing its performance in these areas. OPG purchased 9 million shares (1.5%) of former Crown corporation
Hydro One Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario ( ...
, another Ontario Hydro successor company, in April 2016.


Nuclear power

OPG is the owner of four
nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ele ...
s. It directly operates Pickering Nuclear Generation Station in Pickering, Ontario and
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. It is a large nuclear facility comprising four CANDU nuclear reactors with a total output of 3,512&nb ...
in Courtice, Ontario. OPG also owns the two nuclear power plants that make up the
Bruce Nuclear Generating Station Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power station located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. It occupies 932 ha (2300 acres) of land. The facility derives its name from Bruce Township, the local municipality when ...
on Lake Huron in western Ontario, which are operated by
Bruce Power Bruce Power Limited Partnership is a Canadian business partnership composed of several corporations. It exists (as of 2015) as a partnership between TC Energy (31.6%), BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust (61.4%), the Power Workers Union (4%) and ...
under a long-term lease.


Waste

OPG also operates three facilities for the interim management of nuclear waste generated by OPG's 10 nuclear reactors and Bruce Power's eight nuclear reactors. The company is proposing to construct and operate a deep geologic repository (DGR) on the Bruce Nuclear site, adjacent to its present Western Waste Management Facility. The repository would provide permanent storage of low- and intermediate-level
radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons ...
produced from the operation of the Bruce, Pickering, and Darlington nuclear generating stations. In 2005, OPG initiated the regulatory approval process. Following a comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) process and two rounds of public hearings in front of a federal joint review panel (JRP), on 6 May 2015 the JRP issued the EA Report and recommended the approval of OPG's DGR to the federal government. In February 2016, the Federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change delayed a decision on OPG's DGR, causing a pause in the timeline for the EA decision to be issued. While the JRP had recommended to the federal government the project move forward based on the strong technical safety case, the Minister requested OPG provide further information. OPG has committed to provide the requested studies and additional information by the end of 2016.


New build at Darlington plant

OPG has also begun the process of building up to four new nuclear units at the site of its
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. It is a large nuclear facility comprising four CANDU nuclear reactors with a total output of 3,512&nb ...
but in October 2013, the province of Ontario declared that the Darlington new build project would not be part of Ontario's long-term energy plan, citing the high capital cost estimates and energy surplus in the province at the time of the announcement.


Commercial operations in Pickering

In January 2016, the province of Ontario approved plans to pursue continued operation of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station to 2024. OPG will work with the Ministry of Energy, the
Independent Electricity System Operator The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is the Crown corporation responsible for operating the electricity market and directing the operation of the bulk electrical system in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is one of seven independ ...
and the
Ontario Energy Board The Ontario Energy Board regulates natural gas and electricity utilities in the province of Ontario, Canada. This includes setting rates, and licensing all participants in the electricity sector including the Independent Electricity System Operato ...
to pursue continued operation of the Pickering Station to 2024. All six units would operate until 2022; two units would then shut down and four units would operate to 2024. Extending Pickering's operation will ensure a reliable, clean source of base load electricity during refurbishment of the
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. It is a large nuclear facility comprising four CANDU nuclear reactors with a total output of 3,512&nb ...
and the initial Bruce Nuclear refurbishments. Any plan to extend Pickering's life requires approval from the
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC; french: Commission Canadienne de sûreté nucléaire) is the federal regulator of nuclear power and materials in Canada. Mandate and history Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was established under t ...
(CNSC). OPG is currently working on a licence application to the CNSC for approval in 2018. On 2 December 2021, OPG announced a partnership with
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) is a provider of advanced reactors and nuclear services. It is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. Established in June 2007, GEH is a nuclear alliance created by General Electric and Hitach ...
to deploy a
small modular reactor Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a proposed class of nuclear fission reactors, smaller than conventional nuclear reactors, which can be built in one location (such as a factory), then shipped, commissioned, and operated at a separate site. The ...
(SMR) at the Darlington new nuclear site, the only site in Canada currently licensed for a new nuclear build. The project is expected to be completed as early as 2028.


Alternative energy

OPG has made some investments in alternative electricity generation. By 2014, OPG had stopped burning coal to generate electricity. Thermal electricity-generating stations were traditionally coal-fired, creating problems caused by pollution. While the Nanticoke Generating Station, on Lake Erie in Haldimand County, Ontario, and the Lambton Generating Station were shut down, OPG did convert two other coal-fuelled power plants. Atikokan Generating Station in
Atikokan Atikokan (, Ojibwe for 'caribou bones') is a town in the Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population was 2,642 as of the 2021 census. The town is one of the main entry points into Quetico Provincial Park and promotes its ...
, Ontario, was converted in 2012 to burning steam-treated wood pellets or "biomass" as OPG refers to it. "Biomass wood pellets are a sustainable fuel recognized as beneficial to climate change mitigation, as identified in the Biomass Sustainability Analysis Report by the
Pembina Institute The Pembina Institute is a Canadian think tank and registered charity focused on energy. Founded in 1985, the institute has offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver. The institute's mission is to "advance a prosperous clean en ...
", according to OPG. The company says that this generating station is "North America's largest 100 per cent biomass-fuelled power plant". Thunder Bay Generating Station in
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...
, Ontario, was converted to using "advanced" biomass in 2014. "It is a solid biomass fuel ... has higher energy density and is hydrophobic (repels water) allowing it withstand the elements while being stored outside," according to OPG. In March 2016, OPG and partners
SunEdison SunEdison, Inc. (formerly MEMC Electronic Materials) is a renewable energy company headquartered in the U.S. In addition to developing, building, owning, and operating solar power plants and wind energy plants, it also manufactures high purity po ...
Canadian Construction LP and Six Nations Development Corporation were selected by the
Independent Electricity System Operator The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is the Crown corporation responsible for operating the electricity market and directing the operation of the bulk electrical system in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is one of seven independ ...
(IESO) to develop a 44 megawatt (MW) solar facility on and near the Nanticoke Generating Station site on Lake Erie. The company is proud of its achievements in reducing pollution. "Now, together with a diverse fleet that includes 65 hydroelectric stations and two nuclear stations, OPG's power is more than 99 per cent free of smog and greenhouse gas emissions."


Controversies and criticism

Prior to shutting down its coal-fueled generating stations, OPG attracted considerable controversy for the operation of coal-fired generating stations, which ranked among Canada's largest individual air pollution sources. This was mostly because Nanticoke housed a massive 3,900 MW of generation capacity in one site: it produced "the most pollution in one site" despite being a reasonably clean plant per megawatt of power. Nanticoke Generating Station was North America's largest coal-fired generating station and the single largest air pollution source for southern Ontario and northern New York state, attracting considerable criticism from environmentalists and legislators in both jurisdictions. OPG's Lambton Generating Station was the second largest air polluter in the province. The
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
government of
Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearl ...
came to power in 2003 with a promise to phase out coal generation by 2007. However, for various operational and demand reasons this was not possible until 2014, when the last coal was burned in OPG's stations. The company also endured significant criticism concerning the slow return to operation of some of its nuclear generating stations which had been shut down by the
Northeast blackout of 2003 The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, and most parts of the Canadian province of Ontario on Thursday, August 14, 2003, beginning just after 4:10 p.m. ...
. The problem was that all but one of the reactors were tripped and allowed to poison out, preventing an early reconnection to the
electricity grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
. Once shut down, all nuclear reactors take several days to return to service. Another source of criticism was the extended and expensive refit to the reactor Unit 4 at the Pickering A Nuclear Station. In late 2003, the incoming Liberal government fired the three most senior executives at OPG on the heels of a report that the retrofit of a single reactor at the Pickering nuclear plant had come in significantly over budget and three years behind schedule. The government also accepted the resignation of all remaining board members. Management underestimated the amount of work and complexity of the Unit 4 refurbishment project and failed to do a complete scope analysis before starting on the project. Due to the uproar over the large cost overruns and delays, an independent review committee was commissioned to examine the future role of OPG in the electricity sector; the future structure of OPG; the appropriate corporate governance and senior management structure; and the potential refurbishing of Pickering A Units 1, 2, and 3. Former federal Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
John Manley John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to ...
chaired the review committee. Peter Godsoe, Chairman of the Bank of Nova Scotia, and
Jake Epp Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a Canadian executive and former politician. Life and career Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering politics. J ...
, a former federal Cabinet Minister, Chair of the Pickering A Review Panel, and interim Chairman of OPG, also sat on the committee. The experience of refurbishing Pickering A Unit 1 was significantly different with a much tighter adherence to schedule and budget. Unit 1 was returned to service in November 2005 providing 542 MW of generating capacity for Ontario's electricity system. It was decided that Pickering Units 2 and 3 would not be restarted as the business case could not be made. In early December 2015, Ontario's Auditor General pointed out that OPG was importing wood products from Europe to burn at the Thunder Bay station "pushing the cost of the electricity it generates to 25 times higher than other biomass generators", or $1,600 per MWh. Subsequently, Ontario's Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle stated that OPG was seeking a local company to produce the biomass fuel. Considering the ever-increasing cost of electricity to Ontario consumers, the hiring of CEO Jeffrey Lyash in the summer of 2015 created some criticism when it was revealed that Lyash would earn $775,000 per annum and that could increase to $1.55 million with bonuses if performance targets are met.


Power plants

OPG owns and operates generating plants that draw from nuclear, hydro-electric, combined gas, biomass, solar and some wind. In 2018, it generated about half of the electricity in Ontario or 74.0 terawatt hours (TWh). Roughly 60 percent of Ontario's electricity is accounted for by three nuclear power plants: Pickering,
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwe ...
and
Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...
. No fatal accidents related to nuclear power have occurred in Ontario. On 25 June 2019, Ontario Power announced the $1.12 billion purchase of Cube Hydro, which includes 19 hydroelectric power plants in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
and
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...
.


Gallery

File:Pickering Nuclear Plant.jpg, The
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Pickering, Ontario. It is one of the oldest nuclear power stations in the world and Canada's third-largest, consisting of eight ...
File:OPG RH Saunders Dam-1.jpg, The 1045-MW R. H. Saunders Generating Station, on the
Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting t ...
File:Decew Falls.JPG, The old water mill at Decew Falls File:ThunderBayCoalGenStn.jpg, OPG's Thunder Bay Generating Station


See also

* Renewable energy in Canada *
Hydro Ottawa Hydro Ottawa Limited is a regulated electricity distribution company operating in the City of Ottawa and the Village of Casselman in Ontario, Canada. As the third-largest municipally owned electrical utility in Ontario, Hydro Ottawa maintains ...


References


External links

*
OPG 2015 Annual Report

Images from the OPG Collection
Niagara Falls Public Library (Ont.)
Material related to power developments at Niagara Falls with an interactive map
Niagara Falls Public Library (Ont.)
OPG L&ILW Deep Geologic Repository website
{{Authority control Ontario Hydro Renewable energy companies of Canada Nuclear power companies of Canada Ontario electricity policy Crown corporations of Ontario Non-renewable resource companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in Ontario Hydroelectric power companies of Canada