 | |
| Company type | Crown corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electricity generation |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | 1908 Colonel Sam Drive,Oshawa, Ontario |
Key people | Wendy Kei, Chair Nicolle Butcher, President and CEO |
| Products | Electricity |
| Revenue |  $5.53 billionCAD (2018)[1] |
| $1.20 billionCAD (2018)[1] | |
| Owner | Government of Ontario |
Number of employees | 10,000 (2019) |
| Subsidiaries | Atura Power Canadian Nuclear Partners Inc. Eagle Creek Renewable Energy Ivy Charging Network Laurentis Energy Partners PowerON |
| Website | opg |
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Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is aCrown corporation[2][3] and "government business enterprise"[4] that is responsible for approximately half of theelectricity generation in the province ofOntario, Canada.[5] It is wholly owned by thegovernment of Ontario.[6] Sources of electricity includenuclear,hydroelectric,wind,gas andbiomass. Although Ontario has an openelectricity market, 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.[citation needed] Since 1 April 2008, the company's rates have been regulated by theOntario Energy Board.
In June 2019, it was announced that a new corporate campus would be built inClarington, Ontario, that will also house Ontario Power Generation's headquarters.[7] In February 2023, it was announced that OPG would instead purchase the former head office building ofGeneral Motors Canada at 1908 Colonel Sam Drive inOshawa, Ontario, for their new headquarters, planning to open by 2024,[8] but full occupancy is now by end of 2025.[9]
Ontario Power Generation was established in April 1999 as part of plans by theProgressive Conservative government of PremierMike Harris toprivatize the assets ofOntario Hydro andderegulate the province's electricity market. OPG was one of the five successor corporations to Ontario Hydro and assumed ownership of all generating stations.
Wendy Kei is the chair of the board of directors. She was appointed as chairman on 27 June 2019.[10]
Nicolle Butcher is the president and chief executive officer of OPG. She was appointed to this position on 19 December 2024, when the previous president and CEO, Ken Hartwick, resigned.[citation needed]
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.[11]
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 MinisterDwight Duncan described OPG's turnaround as "[o]ne of the untold stories of the last two years".[12]
On the local public relations side, OPG has won many awards for its performance as a "good corporate citizen".[13] Most recently, OPG was named for the fourth year in a row to theCorporate Knights Top 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada.[14] OPG regularly sponsors community events across the province and houses wildlife trails in the exclusion zones around its nuclear stations inDurham Region. 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" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured inMaclean's. Later that month, OPG was also named one ofGreater Toronto's Top Employers, which was announced by theToronto Star.[15]
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 corporationHydro One, another Ontario Hydro successor company, in April 2016.[16]
OPG is the owner of fournuclear power plants. It directly operatesPickering Nuclear Generation Station inPickering, Ontario andDarlington Nuclear Generating Station inCourtice, Ontario.[17] OPG also owns the two nuclear power plants that make up theBruce Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Huron in western Ontario, which are operated byBruce Power under a long-term lease.
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.[18] The company is proposing to construct and operate adeep geologic repository (DGR) on theBruce Nuclear site, adjacent to its present Western Waste Management Facility. The repository would provide permanent storage of low- and intermediate-levelradioactive waste 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.
OPG has also begun the process of building up to four new nuclear units at the site of itsDarlington Nuclear Generating Station 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,[19] citing the high capital cost estimates and energy surplus in the province at the time of the announcement.
In January 2016, the province of Ontario approved plans[20] to pursue continued operation of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station to 2024.
OPG will work with the Ministry of Energy, theIndependent Electricity System Operator and theOntario Energy Board 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 theDarlington Nuclear Generating Station and the initial Bruce Nuclear refurbishments.
Any plan to extend Pickering's life requires approval from theCanadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). OPG is currently working on a licence application to the CNSC for approval in 2018.
On 2 December 2021, OPG announced a partnership withGE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy to deploy asmall modular reactor (SMR) at the Darlington new nuclear site, the only site in Canada currently licensed for a new nuclear build.[21] The project is expected to be completed as early as 2028.
OPG has made some investments in renewable 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 theNanticoke Generating Station, on Lake Erie in Haldimand County, Ontario, and theLambton Generating Station were shut down, OPG did convert two other coal-fuelled power plants.Atikokan Generating Station inAtikokan, 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 toclimate change mitigation, as identified in the Biomass Sustainability Analysis Report by thePembina Institute", according to OPG.[22] The company says that this generating station is "North America's largest 100 per cent biomass-fuelled power plant".[23]Thunder Bay Generating Station inThunder Bay, 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 to withstand the elements while being stored outside," according to OPG.[24]
In March 2016, OPG and partnersSunEdison Canadian Construction LP and Six Nations Development Corporation were selected by theIndependent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to develop theNanticoke Solar Facility, a 44 megawatt (MW) solar farm on and near the Nanticoke Generating Station site on Lake Erie.[25]
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."[26]
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.[citation needed] 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.[27]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. TheLiberal government ofDalton McGuinty came to power in 2003 with a promise to phase out coal generation by 2007.[28] 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 theNortheast blackout of 2003. The problem was that all but one of the reactors were tripped and allowed topoison out, preventing an early reconnection to theelectricity grid. 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.[citation needed] 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 MinisterJohn Manley chaired the review committee.Peter Godsoe, Chairman of the Bank of Nova Scotia, andJake Epp, a former federal Cabinet Minister, Chair of the Pickering A Review Panel, and interim Chairman of OPG, also sat on the committee.[29]
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",[30] or $1,600 per MWh. Subsequently, Ontario'sDevelopment and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle stated that OPG was seeking a local company to produce the biomass fuel.[31]
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.[32]
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On 10 June 2019, it was announced that a new corporate campus would be built inClarington, Ontario, that will also house Ontario Power Generation's headquarters.[7]
On 13 February 2023, OPG announced they completed a deal to purchase the former head office building forGeneral Motors of Canada inOshawa, Ontario, for their new headquarters, with plans to open in 2024.[8] Original plans called for a new building to be constructed inClarington, Ontario, at the existing Darlington Energy Complex. The decision was made to retrofit the empty building for economic and sustainability reasons.[33] Clarington MayorAdrian Foster issued a statement, saying he was "deeply disappointed" with the decision not to build in Clarington.[34] Oshawa MayorDan Carter welcomed the news, saying he was "thrilled to welcome" OPG to Oshawa.[35]
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).
| Source | Stations | Capacity (MW) | 2015 output (TWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear | 2 | 5,728 | 40.9 |
| Hydroelectric | 66 | 7,480 | 29.8 |
| Thermal | 3 | 2,305 | 2.5 |
| Biomass | 1 | 205 | 0.0 |
| Wind | 1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Solar | 1 | 44 | 0.0 |
| Total | 74 | 16,295 | 74 |
Roughly 60 percent of Ontario's electricity is accounted for by three nuclear power plants:Pickering,Darlington andBruce. No fatal accidents related to nuclear power have occurred in Ontario.
| Nuclear | Hydro-electric | Thermal | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large
Small
Altogether there are 29 plants producing 127 MW of power. |
Defunct
|
|
On 25 June 2019, Ontario Power announced the $1.12 billion purchase of Cube Hydro, which includes 19 hydroelectric power plants inNew York,Pennsylvania,Virginia,West Virginia andNorth Carolina.[37]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)OPG is a Crown corporation that produces about half of the province's electricity.
Ontario Power Generation Inc. had a $259-million profit in its latest quarter, although the provincial Crown corporation continued to feel the impact of reduced demand for electricity.
The three Crown corporations that the province classifies as "government businesses enterprises" are the LCBO, Ontario Power Generation and Ontario Lottery and Gaming.
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