Overview
- Ontario set the refurbishment budget at $26.8 billion, with Ontario Power Generation carrying project costs while exploring financing tools to limit impacts on electricity bills.
- The overhaul focuses on Pickering’s B units 5–8 and includes major component replacements, with output projected to reach about 2,200 megawatts.
- Officials project roughly 30,000 construction jobs and about 3,700 ongoing positions, with most project spending expected to stay in Canada.
- If licensed, construction is slated to start in early 2027, with all units targeted to return to service by the mid-2030s.
- The move reinforces the province’s nuclear-centered energy strategy, as critics warn of higher costs and point to increased natural gas use during nuclear outages.