Bruce Power - Unit 8 outage extended

TIVERTON, - Bruce Power will extend its current maintenance outage on Unit 8 until later in the fourth quarter of 2003 after inspections identified some erosion on support plates in three of the unit's eight steam generators.

A detailed investigation and analysis is ongoing regarding the condition of the support plates, which separate the boiler tubes as they run through the steam generators. No damage to the boiler tubes has been identified.

Due to the nature of the repairs, any modifications will require review and approval by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission before the unit returns to service.

"The very reason we have such a comprehensive inspection program on our units is to identify any potential issues like this before they develop further," said Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have launched a program to address this issue and safely return Unit 8 to service as soon as possible."

Inspections from previous outages show no evidence of a similar condition in the other steam generators at either the Bruce B or Bruce A generating stations. A steam generator is essentially a large boiler that produces steam to drive the unit's turbine.

Canada Newswire