Letter to Ontario Power Generation regarding Regulatory Hold Point 3

Regulatory Operations Branch

May 2, 2020

Mr. Dietmar Reiner Senior Vice President, Nuclear Projects Ontario Power Generation Inc. 1855 Energy Drive, 3C14 Courtice, ON L1E 0E7

Mr. Steve Gregoris Senior Vice President, Darlington Nuclear Ontario Power Generation Inc. P.O. Box 4000 Bowmanville, ON L1C 3Z8

SUBJECT: Darlington NGS - Unit 2 Return to Service: Request for CNSC Consent to Remove the Regulatory Hold Point for Reactor Power Increases prior to exceeding 1% Full Power

Dear Messrs. Reiner and Gregoris,

The purpose of this letter is to respond to Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) request [1] to remove Regulatory Hold Point-3 (RHP-3), allowing OPG to proceed with operation between 1 % and 35% full power in the refurbished Unit 2 reactor at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (DNGS).

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) staff’s assessments [2, 3] concluded that OPG has met all the pre-requisites established by the Commission to remove RHP-3. Therefore, as the person authorized by the Commission and pursuant to Licence Condition 15.4 of the DNGS Nuclear Power Reactor Operating Licence 13.02/2025, I hereby consent to the removal of RHP-3, allowing OPG to operate the Darlington Unit 2 reactor between 1% and 35% full power to conduct required Phase D testing activities.

Yours sincerely,

Ramzi Jammal
Executive Vice-President and
Chief Regulatory Operations Officer
Regulatory Operations Branch

c.c: G. Frappier, J. Burta, P. Elder, D. Newland, G. Lamarre, M. Rinker, K. Heppell-Masys, H.Tadros, C. Loreti, D. Desjardins, D. Nguyen, N. Abonasara, K. Hazelton, A. Mathai, C. Yacoub, Darlington Site Office

References:

1. OPG letter, D. Reiner and S. Gregoris to R. Jammal, April 29, 2020 NK38-CORR-00531.
2. CNSC staff document entitled: “Request by Ontario Power Generation Inc. to Remove Regulatory Hold Point for Prior to Exceeding 1% Full Power for Unit 2”, dated April 28, 2020.
3. CNSC staff memorandum: “Removal of Regulatory Hold Point 3 – Prior to Exceeding 1% Full Power for Darlington NGS Unit 2”, DatedMay 2, 2020.