Borealis Infrastructure, on behalf of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), announced they are acquiring Cameco’s 31.6 per cent interest in Bruce B.
"Cameco played a critical role in the formation of Bruce Power in 2001 and have been a strong partner, contributing greatly to the success of the site," said Duncan Hawthorne Bruce Power’s President and CEO. "However, the outlook of both Bruce Power and Cameco has evolved and this is a unique opportunity for Bruce Power to turn our policy position in the LTEP into action, while Cameco can focus on its role as a world leader in the nuclear fuel market through this restructuring," added Hawthorne.
Building on this first step taken by Borealis, TransCanada Corporation, Power Workers’ Union and Society of Energy Professionals will now have the opportunity to follow suit, and make a determination to exercise their options related to additional ownership.
Bruce Power is Canada’s largest public-private partnership as the Bruce site assets remain owned by the province, operated by Bruce Power and the company’s partners meet investment requirements, which has totalled $7 billion since 2001. The price of power is controlled and sold through contract with the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and in 2013 was 30 per cent below the average cost of electricity in province, providing families and businesses with stable, low prices.
"With this ownership change now in place, Bruce Power will continue to work to put the policy role outlined in Ontario’s LTEP for the site into action by advancing discussions with the OPA," added Hawthorne. "We will continue to focus on providing the people of Ontario with a reliable source of affordable electricity and we appreciate the confidence expressed in Bruce Power’s future from Ontario’s largest pension plan."
In 2013, Bruce Power provided a majority of the nuclear power in Ontario and the site is capable of generating 6,300 MW from its eight units. The average price paid for electricity from the Bruce Power site in Ontario was 6 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared to the average price in the province of 8.55 cents per kWh. The company is the largest investor in Ontario’s electricity system over the last decade investing private funds into public assets.
