The Pickering nuclear plant will operate two months beyond the original expiration of its licenses as Canadian regulators weigh a longer life extension for the plant.
The oldest of the six Candu reactors at the plant near Toronto entered service in 1971, according to Ontario Power Generation. The utility has sought a five-year license extension and the issuance of a single operating license for the plant's two groups of reactors, known as Pickering A and Pickering B.
On Monday, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission announced it would extend the expiration date of the plant's existing licenses from June 30 to Aug. 31. The agency said in an announcement it will use the additional time to render a decision, which follows an earlier public hearing process.
The Toronto Star reported that environmental groups' opposition to the license extension centers around conflicting estimates of the design life of pressure tubes within the reactors. Unlike the fuel that sits inside a light-water reactor pressure vessel, Candu reactors' fuel bundles reside in individual pressurized tubes that allow for in-operation refueling.