Overview

Pickering Nuclear Generation Station (NGS) unit 1 and vacuum building

A power station is a very valuable asset containing many different components and systems that age at different rates. Routine maintenance is used to update worn-out items on an ongoing basis, but when significant components within a station begin to reach their end of life, larger-scale measures such as refurbishment or a major component replacement (MCR) program are needed to retain operational viability.

Refurbishment and MCR is particularly important for CANDU reactors, as they require a midlife renewal of life-limiting components including pressure tubes and feeders. With the station in an extended outage and with the knowledge that their units will continue to operate well into the future, station operators take the opportunity to carry out many other renewal tasks in parallel so refurbishment or MCR becomes a very complex execution of concurrent projects.

Ontario CANDU refurbishments are some of the largest infrastructure projects ever embarked on in North America.

We support refurbishment projects in many ways, acting centrally to assist in planning and gaining regulatory approval for the entire program, working with others to integrate our specialized services and enable them to complete their packages, and undertaking specialized packages of our own. Our refurbishment support involves many aspects of our service capability and we provide that support as holistic packages or as independent services and we work both directly with you or as part of industry teams with a broader scope.

Why Us?

  • Wide Ranging Capabilities

    Whether it is providing assessments for your regulator, planning dose budgets, developing and deploying complex inspection equipment or designing and installing new equipment, we have the knowledge and expertise. In fact, there is no part of a refurbishment project in which we do not have something to offer. Dirty laundry? We can deal with that too.

  • Timely Problem Solving

    Discovery items often occur during a refurbishment project and solutions must be found quickly. As experts in inspection, research and development, design, procurement, safety analysis, and fabrication, all supported by extensive laboratories and testing facilities, we have all the capabilities necessary to develop timely effective solutions.

  • Understanding What Refurbishment Means

    Working with utilities on numerous refurbishment projects has led us to appreciate and understand the challenges you face and this has helped us develop services that fit comfortably within your overall program.

  • Integrated and Informed

    With involvement in many aspects of a refurbishment program, we coordinate our work across the projects to optimize overall performance.