TORONTO — Construction has started on Ontario Power Generation’s $26.8-billion Pickering Nuclear Generating Station rebuild, and the four Pickering B reactors are coming off-line by the end of September. Energy Minister Stephen Lecce would not say what households will pay, while Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said Queen’s Park can finance “the 20 some $27 billion,” and Lecce named natural gas as the backup while the station sits dark.Lecce called the project a reply to President Donald Trump targeting Ontario’s economy and said awarded contracts will keep 90% to 95% of costs in Canada. OPG president and CEO Nicolle Butcher said the plant “will come out of service next week” and would be off-grid for five to seven years. Reactor work waits on Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approval in January 2027.The rebuilt station is projected to supply up to 2,200 megawatts — enough for 2.2 million homes — after crews replace 1,520 fuel channels and 48 boilers. Unit 5 is targeted for 2031, with all four units aimed at the mid-2030s. About $3 billion in contracts has been awarded to Aecon with Candu Energy and Siemens Energy. The Pickering price tag is already more than double Darlington’s $12.8-billion rebuild..Ratepayers are on the hook before the power returns. A January 2026 rule change lets OPG recover debt interest during construction. OPG has asked the Ontario Energy Board for nuclear payments near $207 per megawatt hour starting in 2027 — roughly double recent levels — with Pickering about 60% of the increase. OPG has said that path would lift a typical residential bill about 2.4% a year over five years, or about $3.50 a month each year if approved. After a 29% rate increase last November, Queen’s Park nearly doubled its electricity rebate program at about $2 billion a year. Total hydro subsidies now run about $8.5 billion a year.When asked whether bills will go up and pressed for a household dollar figure, Lecce did not give one. “The framing of this around cost and not investment is, I think, doing a disservice to Canada’s nuclear tech and fleet,” he said.Pickering supplies about 10% of Ontario’s electricity. Asked what happens if the rebuild runs past the mid-2030s, Lecce pointed to batteries, conservation and imports, “but really, we’re going to also rely on the ultimate insurance policy for the province, which is natural gas.”
