The refurbishment of Bruce Power’s Unit 3 reactor is officially complete – seven months ahead of schedule and $150 million under budget.

The Ontario government is calling the project the most successful completion and return to service of a nuclear unit in the province’s history. The reactor was due to return to service in January 2027.

The refurbished reactor will provide more than 800 megawatts (MW) of reliable, affordable and clean power for over 35 years, enough to power more than 800,000 homes. Bruce Power’s operations and Life-Extension Program supports approximately 27,000 direct and indirect Ontario jobs and injects $4 billion into the province’s economy each year.

"When Ontario successfully completed the world’s largest nuclear refurbishment at Darlington ahead of schedule and under budget, critics said it couldn't be done again. Yet again, we are proving them wrong as we delivered a record-setting refurbishment under budget and seven months ahead of schedule," said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines.

"The successful refurbishment of Bruce A Unit 3 as part of Bruce Power’s Major Component Replacement project is a testament to the skills, precision, and dedication of the building trades workers who made it happen,” said Marc Arsenault, Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer, Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario. “Executing this project safely, ahead of schedule, exemplifies the longstanding collaborative partnership between Bruce Power, contractors, organized labour, and government. We look forward to achieving similar milestones in the future."

The Unit 3 refurbishment replaced key components such as fuel channels, feeder tubes, and steam generators. This refurbishment also marked a significant step in nuclear innovation with the first robotic tools used ever on a reactor face to refurbish a CANDU reactor, as well as setting a record for calandria tube removal completing it 11 days ahead of schedule.

The Bruce Power Life-Extension Program will refurbish six reactors, extending the operating life of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station through 2064. Once at full power, the refurbished reactor will generate upwards of 7,000 MW of net peak output, or enough electricity to power a city the size of Brampton.

The Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is one of the largest operating nuclear sites in the world.

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