Hon. Glenn Thibeault   …

Hon. Glenn Thibeault

 

Minister of Energy

 

4th Floor, Hearst Block

 

900 Bay St.

 

Toronto, ON

 

M7A 2E1

 

To the Hon. Glenn Thibeault, Minister of Energy:

 

Please accept this letter as a formal submission in support of Bruce Power – and nuclear power – in the 2016 Long-Term Energy Plan review.

 

Seven organizations – the Bruce Power Pensioners Association, Canadian Nuclear Workers’ Council, the Grey Bruce Labour Council, North American Young Generation Nuclear, the Power Workers’ Union, The Society of Energy Professionals, and the Bruce Chapter of Women in Nuclear-Canada – joined forces in October to launch an online petition to gather support for Bruce Power. The response has been overwhelming, with 6,473 signatures as of Dec. 16. The petition is included with this letter.

 

We believe Bruce Power’s role in Ontario electricity sector has never been more important. The company safely provides 30% of Ontario’s electricity at 30% less than the average residential price – keeping costs low for families and businesses – while also providing jobs for 4,200 full-time workers, including many of those in our member organizations. Bruce Power’s impact reaches much further than the Lake Huron shoreline though, as its ongoing operations injects over $4 billion directly and indirectly into Ontario’s economy every year, while creating and sustaining 22,000 jobs.

 

The economic impact of Bruce Power has increased significantly since the company began its $13 billion life-extension investment on the site in 2016, in the lead-up to its first Major Component Replacement program on Unit 6 in 2020. This private investment program – outlined in the 2013 LTEP and established through an amended Bruce Power Refurbishment Implementation Agreement in December 2015 – will have a long-term, positive economic impact on Bruce, Grey and Huron counties, suppliers, local communities and the entire province, now and for future generations.

 

Bruce Power nuclear also helps keep our air clean, generating no carbon emissions from the production of its energy, while it also provided 70% of the electricity the Ministry of Energy needed to shut down its coal-fired facilities. The result has been the elimination of smog days in Ontario, healthier air for our families to breathe, and a head start for the Province as it works to achieve its Climate Change Action Plan goals.

 

These reasons are why thousands of people gave Bruce Power their support through our petition. We want Bruce Power to remain an integral part of Ontario’s energy vision, as was outlined in the 2013 LTEP, providing 6,400 Megawatts of carbon-free, low-cost, reliable electricity to a third of the province through 2064.

 

We ask the Ministry of Energy to maintain Bruce Power’s role in the LTEP as a provider of 6,400 MW of clean electricity for decades to come.

 

Doug Mullaly

 

Bruce Power Pensioners Association

 

Dave Shier

 

Canadian Nuclear

 

Workers’ Council

 

Kevin Smith

 

Grey Bruce Labour Council

 

Larry Alderdice

 

Power Workers’ Union

 

Orie Good

 

North American-Young

 

Generation Nuclear

 

Scott Travers

 

The Society of Energy Professionals

 

Lee-Anne Edmunds

 

Tracy Primeau

 

Bruce Chapter of

 

Women in Nuclear-Bruce Chapter

 

[Original Comment ID: 207148]