Ontario's Pickering nuclear station gets green light for continued operation

(Reuters) - The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario has received approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the safe operation of its "B" units until December 2026.

"The data is clear, Ontario needs more power to meet growing energy demands. We have long believed that the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is essential to Ontario's energy expansion plan," Stephen Lecce, Ontario's minister of energy and electrification, said in a statement.

This decision will facilitate the production of "reliable, affordable and clean power," as well as life-saving medical isotopes to combat cancer, Lecce added.

The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station's "B" units produced its second-highest output ever in 2023 as a six-unit station, and generates 2,000 MW of power, enough to power two million homes.

The approval comes after Ontario Power Generation concluded that Pickering could safely generate electricity through 2026 and subsequently applied to amend the station's operating license.

This move is in line with the government's announcement in January supporting OPG's plan to proceed with refurbishing the station's "B" units.

(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)