Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Bruce Power announced its Unit 4 Major Component Replacement (MCR) hit a milestone with the installation of 480 Calandria Tubes.
The installation of the key reactor components in Unit 4’s MCR outage was completed 25 days ahead of the same milestone in Unit 3, setting yet another record in CANDU refurbishment history, according to Bruce Power. With this installation complete, work on Unit 4 moves to fuel channel installation.
The Bruce Power Refurbishment is No. 5 on ReNew Canada’s 2026 Top100 Projects report.
Making this possible was the use of a state-of-the-art six-axis robotic tooling system, which was used for the first time on a reactor face during the Unit 3 MCR. Taking lessons from that initial deployment and refining the process further, Bruce Power’s skilled tradespeople and partners were able to deliver the Unit 4 Calandria Tube installation with high degrees of accuracy and performance.
This robotic tooling, designed to increase safety to workers by limiting exposure to radiation and to deliver accurate and repeatable results, is a made-in-Canada innovation with design, testing, training and function led by Bruce Power, Shoreline Power Group (an Aecon and AtkinsRealis joint venture), ATS Automation and Calian Engineering.
“We are returning our units to service with very high quality, providing clean, reliable and affordable electricity for the people of Ontario for decades to come,” said Eric Chassard, Bruce Power’s president and CEO.
The Unit 4 MCR outage is the half-way point in Bruce Power’s Life-Extension Program, which will see Units 3-8 renewed and returned to service by 2033. Unit 6 and Unit 3 have been safely and successfully returned to service and Unit 5 MCR is set to begin in November at Bruce B, with Units 7 and 8 to follow.
Featured image: (Bruce Power)
