NB Power, the operator of the 660 MW Point Lepreau nuclear power plant in New Brunswick (Canada), has started the license renewal process for the plant. In June 2016, NB Power applied for a five-year Power Reactor Operating Licence (PROL) issued by the federal nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The current PROL expires in June 2017. NB Power is preparing for a two-part public hearing process which begins in early 2017.
The CANDU reactor was commissioned in 1983. It was brought off-line in March 2008 to undergo a major refurbishment aimed at extending operations by an estimated 25 years (until 2035). The refurbishment ran into a series of problems that caused it to pass its original 2009 restart date. With more than 3 year delays (the reactor was reconnected to the grid in October 2012), the cost escalated from C$1.3bn (initial budget to rebuild the reactor) to about C$2.3bn, i.e. nearly C$1bn over budget.
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