In her September 5 featured interview on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, Premier Kathleen Wynne addressed her government’s plans for Ontario’s energy future, including the fate of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station and nuclear’s role in Ontario’s energy supply mix.
On Pickering, Premier Wynne reiterated the government’s commitment of life extension to 2024. The video is available at the top of this post but the transcript of the exchange was as follows:
Steve Paikin: “Have you made the decision to redo Pickering?”
Kathleen Wynne: “Yeah, the refurbishment – yeah, that’s on the books. We’re doing that, yep.”
SP: “Keeping it alive for another 20 years beyond…”
KW: “Well, I think it’s an extension of four years, actually. But Darlington, that refurbishment – yeah, yeah.”
SP: “I know you’re in for twelve and a half billion on Darlington. Okay…”
KW: “Because nuclear is going to continue to be part of our base load, Steve, I mean that is a given and, you know, we need to make sure we keep those plants in Number One condition, obviously.”
In the longer segment about the energy file, which begins at 10:50 of the video above, Paikin asks the premier about the government’s efforts to curtail energy bills, balancing short-term and long-term priorities in energy and Hydro One’s acquisition of the American energy company Avista.
