Lepreau breaks down again, likely to cost about $50M

Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power plant has broken down again, a repair problem that will likely cost NB Power customers at least $50 million.

For New Brunswickers who want to know how that impacts their wallet, that works out to about $127 on average for each of the public utility’s 393,000 direct customers.

Officials with the Crown corporation did not offer any estimates on Tuesday, the day after announcing the unplanned outage at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station west of Saint John.

“We are still assessing the overall cost,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Fraser-McAllister told Brunswick News on Tuesday in an email.

“Repair costs and replacement power costs can vary depending on the time and duration of the outage, market conditions and operational requirements. Our focus is on completing the work safely and returning the station to service once all required reviews are complete.”

But it’s not that difficult to do a rough calculation of how much the breakdown will likely cost customers who are already suffering from rate shock.

A planned maintenance outage announced earlier this year in an NB Power news release was supposed to last only 119 days. That work began April 10 and was scheduled to wrap up by Aug. 7.

Fraser-McAllister said the unplanned outage would likely last until the end of September, or 54 days since the planned outage was to be completed.

In previous hearings before the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board, NB Power executives have said that an unplanned outage at Point Lepreau costs on average about $1 million a day outside the winter peak months.

When it is down, NB Power must fire up more expensive fossil-fuel plants (like the oil-burning Coleson Cove) or buy premium-priced power from Quebec and Maine.

That means the 54-day outage could cost ratepayers an additional $54 million.

Customers won’t know the true costs until a little under a year from now. Fraser-McAllister said they would be reported through NB Power’s annual financial statements, which are publicly available. Those are typically published in July.

In its release on Monday, the utility said there was no risk to the staff, public and the environment.

“This is the best path forward,” said Steve Bagshaw, site vice president and chief nuclear officer with the Crown corporation, in the release. “Taking the time now to complete this repair helps reduce the risk of unplanned interruptions during the winter months, helping ensure we are ready when customers need us most. This approach supports the long-term reliability of the station.”

The problem this time is a blown gasket. NB Power says the piece of equipment that failed was on the turbine system on the conventional, non-nuclear side of the plant.

Taking this proactive approach is in the best interests of our customers.

-Elizabeth Fraser-McAllister

Fraser-McAllister said the gasket issue became apparent as the station progressed through its normal start-up activities and steam began circulating through the turbine system on Aug. 21. The plant went fully offline on Sunday.

“As power was gradually raised, as per process, teams observed that steam was escaping from the reheater gasket area,” she explained. “The station continued operating safety as the team analyzed the issue. Further reviews and assessments determined that the gasket on the reheater was not sealing as intended and needed to be replaced.”

She said the repair is being completed before workers fire up the plant again.

“Taking this proactive approach is in the best interests of our customers, helping to ensure the equipment is operating as intended and supporting the station’s safe, reliable and efficient operation through the winter and over the long term.”

Point Lepreau has had several unplanned outages over the years. The direst was last year, when a planned maintenance outage and unexpected breakdown lasted eight months, costing ratepayers more than $200 million.The 43-year-old plant is considered one of NB Power’s workhorses, providing about one-third of the province’s electricity when it is running properly.

The utility’s executives are desperate to get it operating as well as it should. Electricity rates have gone up more than one-quarter in the past four years, costing households hundreds of extra dollars a year and leading to a public outcry. Meanwhile, the utility’s bulging debt continues to grow, surpassing $6 billion, money that will eventually have to be paid back.

“The aged equipment has the potential to cause a major outage due to sudden failure.

-NB Power annual report 2025-2026

Most nuclear plants operate at a capacity factor above 90 per cent. The capacity factor measures how much electricity a plant actually produces compared to the maximum amount it could produce if it ran at full power 24 hours a day.

Point Lepreau has been a basement dweller in this regard. Over the last decade, its capacity factor has ranged from 89 to 27 per cent. Between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, the average annual capacity factor was 74 per cent, nearly 20 points below the industry norm.

NB Power signed a three-year, $20-million deal with Laurentis Energy Partners, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, that began in April. The idea is to use expertise from Ontario, where there are several nuclear plants, to ensure Point Lepreau gets up to snuff.“

Some major Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station equipment has run well beyond its typical design life of 30 years,” warned a section in NB Power’s annual report, released this summer. “The aged equipment has the potential to cause a major outage due to sudden failure.“

A strategy for the replacement of key components has been developed that will decrease the risk to Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station as components are replaced over the next several years. The strategy has been embedded in outage plans, long-term asset management activities and budgets.”

The report went on to say that risk would be lessened through the online monitoring of equipment and the procurement of critical spare components.

John Chilibeck is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for the Daily Gleaner. This article originally appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on September 1, 2026.