Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has officially shut down its Pickering-4 nuclear power plant as planned at the end of 2024, reducing the number of commercial nuclear reactors in operation in Canada to 18.
In a statement, OPG highlighted the plant’s crucial role in providing safe, reliable, and low-carbon electricity to Ontario for several decades. Pickering-4 was the last of the units in the Pickering A station, which originally had four 515 MW Candu reactors. These units were shut down in 1997, but units 1 and 4 were later refurbished and returned to service, with unit 4 coming online again in 2003 and unit 1 in 2005. Unit 1 was retired in September 2024.
Earlier in October, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) granted OPG approval to extend the operation of Pickering units 5, 6, 7, and 8—part of the Pickering B complex—until the end of 2026. OPG plans to refurbish these units, which will keep them running beyond their original closure dates. The refurbishment, set to begin in 2026, could extend the life of these units by another 30 years or more, with the entire process expected to be completed by the mid-2030s.
This decision marks a major turnaround for the facility, which had been slated for full closure by 2025. OPG had been working on the planning, engineering, and securing necessary components for the refurbishment project, which is expected to provide significant long-term benefits to Ontario’s power grid.
