N.B. pressures Ottawa on AECL delays

New Brunswick's energy minister is again demanding a clear timeline from the federal government on when Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. will finish its share of the $1.4-billion refurbishment project at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.

Atlantic Canada's only nuclear power plant is mired in delays and is roughly 18 months behind schedule.

Energy Minister Jack Keir wrote to federal Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis on Monday criticizing AECL's communication with the province over the delayed nuclear construction project.

"It is unacceptable and dysfunctional that information continues to reach NB Power and its shareholder [the New Brunswick government] through rumours and gossip," Keir wrote.

"I am calling the federal government, as AECL's shareholder, to immediately cause AECL to provide a clear and updated timeline to the people of New Brunswick."

The refurbishment is being done in three phases, with AECL being responsible for the second and most complex part of the project. NB Power was responsible for getting the reactor shut down so AECL could begin its part of the project,and AECL will turn the power plant back over to NB Power so it can restart it.

AECL pledged last fall that it would be complete its share of the Point Lepreau work by October 2010. But that deadline will be missed, and the federal nuclear company is no longer estimating when it will hand the refurbished reactor back to NB Power.

Dale Coffin, a spokesman for AECL, said the federal nuclear agency will have a better idea of when the project will be completed when plans are completed for the installation of calandria tubes, which encase the nuclear fuel bundles when the reactor is operating.

"There is no question that AECL will complete the retubing of the reactor and that Point Lepreau Generating Station will be returned to service for another 30 years," Coffin said in an email.

"In the nuclear business there is no room for trial and error. We need to get it right the first time, and we are doing just that."

The calandria tubes, which are about seven metres in length and 13 centimetres in diameter, penetrate the reactor face in big circular rows. All of the nuclear activity of the reactor occurs inside them.

Calandria tube installation is a three-step process involving inserting the tubes, attaching collars at each end to fasten them in place, and then testing the assembly to ensure the unit is air-tight.

AECL has run into problems, as the seals have not met acceptable standards for tightness. AECL said in a July 21 statement that it had completed 75 per cent of the project, but did not give a timeline for the remainder of the refurbishment.

Lack of communication

In his letter on Monday, Keir said the New Brunswick government did not know until a meeting on Sept. 15, 2009, about the extent of the delays.

CBC News reported on Sept. 2 that the reactor was nine months late. AECL saidon Sept. 26 that the reactor was 16 months behind schedule.

The province's energy minister said he's tired of learning about potential problems from sources other than AECL.

"We cannot continue to learn of these delays through the rumour mill," Keir wrote.

"AECL, as the lead contractor on this project, has an obligation to formally and officially advise New Brunswickers what the current timelines are."

This is the world's first refurbishment of a Candu-6 reactor, and AECL had hoped that it would be a model to sell to other countries that hadpurchased the same reactor.

The refurbishment is intended to extend Point Lepreau's life by 25 to 30 years.

Keir and Premier Shawn Graham have raised the possibility of suing the federal government to recoup the cost overruns associated with the reactor.