Darlington NGS - Unit 1 Return to Service: Request for CNSC Consent to Remove the Regulatory Hold Point for Prior To Fuel Load

SUBJECT: Darlington NGS - Unit 1 Return to Service: Request for CNSC Consent to Remove the Regulatory Hold Point for Prior To Fuel Load

Dear Mr. Grace and Mr. Vulanovic:

The purpose of this letter is to respond to Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) submission [1], which requests removal of Regulatory Hold Point-1 (RHP-1), allowing fuel to be loaded in the refurbished Darlington Unit 1 reactor core, and provides the associated Completion Assurance Document.

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) staff’s assessment [2] of OPG’s submission [1], as well as all supporting documentation, concluded that OPG has met all the pre-requisites established by the Commission to remove RHP-1. Therefore, as the person authorized by the Commission and pursuant to Licence Condition 15.4 of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (DNGS) Power Reactor Operating Licence 13.03/2025, consent to remove RHP-1 is hereby granted and fuel may now be loaded into the Unit 1 core.

Yours sincerely,

Karen Owen-Whitred
Acting Executive Vice-President and
Chief Regulatory Operations Officer
Regulatory Operations Branch

c.c: A. Viktorov, A. Mathai, M. Rickard, C. Loreti, E. Delgado, A. El-Merhi, A. Oussoren, A. Josua Tanoko, C. Brown, C. Chan, Darlington Site Office

References:

1. OPG Letter, A. Grace and B. Vulanovic to K. Owen-Whitred, “Darlington NGS Refurbishment: Unit 1 Return to Service: Request for CNSC Consent Prior to Fuel Load (RHP1)”, dated April 25, 2024
2. CNSC staff document entitled: “Request by Ontario Power Generation Inc. to Remove Regulatory Hold Point for Prior To Fuel Load for Unit 1”, dated April 28, 2024