Ontario Power Generation awards $392 million of additional Darlington contracts

TORONTO – Ontario Power Generation has awarded two more contracts for refurbishment work at the Darlington nuclear power plant to a joint venture formed by SNC-Lavalin and the Aecon Group.

Aecon (TSX:ARE) will perform 60 per cent of the work in a $265-million contract to overhaul all four of the power plant’s steam turbine generators and related equipment. SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) will do 40 per cent of the work under that contract.

The second contract, worth $127 million, includes construction of a building that will house equipment for processing radioactive waste from reactor components. The work for that contract is split 50-50 between the two companies.

In January, the joint venture was awarded a $2.75 billion contract to extend the life of Darlington’s four Candu nuclear reactors, which produce about 20 per cent of Ontario’s electricity.

The reactors will be taken out of service for about three years apiece until the overall job is completed in about a decade. The overhaul is intended to extend each reactor’s life by 30 years.