Canada’s Bruce Power has signed a 10-year extension to a Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Kinectrics to support continued excellence in its operation, Life-Extension Programme and the production of medical isotopes.

The strategic, long-term collaboration is estimated at CAD2.5bn ($3.2bn) over the term of the agreement and supports engineering project management, project controls, outages, lifecycle asset management, reactor programs and tooling, equipment supply, nuclear safety and licensing as well as maintenance activities.

Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Electrification, said: “Not only does nuclear power provide more than 50 per cent of the province’s electricity, it’s also producing life-saving medical isotopes that are being used to diagnose and treat cancers in Ontario and around the world.”

The agreement enables Kinectrics to support Bruce Power with solutions to support cost certainty, reduce outage duration and frequency, as well as provide holistic services to support its Life-Extension Programme.

The eight pressurised heavy-water Candu reactor units at the Bruce site in Ontario (Bruce A – units 1-4, and Bruce B – units 4-8) began commercial operation between 1977 and 1987. Bruce Power’s CAD13bn Life Extension Programme, which includes Asset Management and Major Component Replacement (MCR), began in 2016. MCR, which began with unit 6 and also includes units 3-8, will extend the life of the site until 2064. Units 1&2 have already been refurbished and were returned to service in 2012. Work began on unit 3 in March 2023. Unit 6 was taken offline for the refurbishment in January 2020 and was returned to service in 2023.