ONTARIO POWER GENERATION
OPG's Niagara stations deliver highest energy output in over 40 years

At a glance

• In 2023, OPG's Niagara Operations celebrated its highest energy production since 1982.
• Strong performance was driven by a decrease in outages, higher unit utilization, and a continual push to get better.
• OPG's Niagara stations, which include the historic Sir Adam Beck hydro facilities, will be critical to supporting Ontario's electrification in the future.

It was a banner year for OPG's Niagara Operations.

A view of the Sir Adam Beck I Generating Station in Niagara Falls.

In 2023, the company's hydroelectric generating fleet in the area, which includes the Sir Adam Beck complex, recorded its highest energy production in over 40 years.

The historic performance amounted to 13.2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of clean, reliable electricity for Ontario, an increase of 0.5 TWh from the previous year and the region's highest output since 1982.

That's enough to power more than one million homes in the province.

For OPG's employees and operations in Niagara, this decades-topping achievement is cause for celebration, particularly as these important clean generating assets will be critical to supporting electrification in the coming years.

"This accomplishment demonstrates the dedication of our Renewable Generation (RG) team in Niagara and the important role our hydro stations play in grid reliability," said Nicholas Pender, OPG's Vice President of Regional Operations in Niagara. "During a time when baseload generation is reduced due to ongoing nuclear outages and the refurbishments at Darlington and Bruce Power, Niagara's ability to generate more power has helped reduce overall system costs and lower emissions."

Niagara's strong performance in 2023 was driven by a collective push to continually get better.

^{OPG's Sir Adam Beck II Generating Station in Niagara.}

Teams across the region worked to decrease maintenance outages, which improved hydro availability, unit utilization, and overall generation across the board.

The successful overhauls of Sir Adam Beck I Generating Station's (GS) G1 and G2 units, which were returned to service in 2022, also led to increased generating output. The two new modern units add about 125 megawatts of incremental generating capacity to the historic station.

OPG's Niagara Operations encompass five hydro generating facilities, including the Sir Adam Beck I and II GS, Sir Adam Beck Pump GS, and DeCew I and II GS. Each year, these plants meet about 10% of Ontario's energy needs.

For decades, these stations have also been a model of reliability and longevity, delivering great value along with clean power for Ontario. DeCew I GS has been in service for more than 125 years, making it the oldest plant in OPG's fleet, and Sir Adam Beck I GS celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2022.