Natural Resources committee  Yes, it is. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee members, for inviting me to speak with you today. It's an honour. I'd like to talk about our nuclear industry, its future, and the role of Ontario Power Generation in that. It's an important sector, and it contributes to the sus

Natural Resources committee  Let me start with this. There are two principles, and principle number one—I agree with Ms. Gelfand—is that safety for the operators is our first priority always, and our plants are safe. It's built into our operation first and foremost. We understand very clearly that is our acc

Natural Resources committee  We'll probably get into that in more detail in the next session, but what I would say is we've been safely managing waste for more than 40 years, and the storage and transportation of waste. In reference to the DGR that we're proposing to construct at Bruce County, this was rev

Natural Resources committee  Specifically in regard to KI pill distribution, this is an example of the regulator saying, “These are the requirements that you must meet.” The province is accountable for the emergency preparedness of any event in the province, including nuclear events, through their emergency

Natural Resources committee  The energy requirements for the province are managed by the IESO. We're a generator, so we provide energy to the province. The refurbishment of Darlington will take 10 years. That's the time span. We're seeking to operate Pickering right through that period. The completion of t

Natural Resources committee  I would say that the electricity bill is made up of many contributors and many components. From the OPG standpoint, our cost is 40% below the average cost. You can draw a conclusion on the effect of our cost on the total price. It brings the price down. One other thing—

Natural Resources committee  Than all the other operators.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, in Ontario. We're 40% less than—

Natural Resources committee  I can't comment on the other.... We could probably get that information, but I don't have it for you.

Natural Resources committee  We can certainly provide that, but we're 40% less than the average in Ontario. One other thing I would leave you with—

Natural Resources committee  —is that all the taxes that we pay and the revenue that OPG makes goes directly back into the Province of Ontario to use as it sees fit, so it's actually better than that.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee members, for inviting me to speak about Ontario Power Generation's deep geological repository and our industry. OPG has a strong tradition of generating electricity for almost 100 years. It grew out of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of

Natural Resources committee  The only thing I would add to that is we're all open and transparent operators. I think that assists the regulator. We don't directly assist the regulator. It is meant to be an independent body that is looking at our operation. You can think of it as a series of layers. You beg

Natural Resources committee  I'll start. Those technological advances are still under way. I think what you're talking about is “fast reactors” and reusing the spent fuel from CANDU reactors. There's still value if you were to put it into one of those types of reactors. That's very new technology. It's goin

Natural Resources committee  Currently Pickering is planned to cease commercial operations in 2024. That's what we're working on right now. There are no current plans to construct a replacement nuclear power reactor to replace Pickering, but we do have a licensed site and a licence to construct adjacent to t