Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is planning a major redevelopment of the second-oldest hydro generating station in its fleet.

The 117-year-old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station (GS) is located near Thunder Bay. While the plant continues to provide enough electricity from its four units to power about 25,000 homes, it is still running on much of its original equipment.

OPG predicts the station is set to reach the end of its service life in the next few years. As a result, it is now planning for the station’s redevelopment.

The project is now in the definition phase, which includes front-end engineering and design work. If all goes to plan, construction is projected to start in 2025, with a completion date of 2027. The scope of the project calls for the building of a new powerhouse extension located upstream of the existing powerhouse on the eastern bank of the Kaministiquia River.

The new powerhouse will house two new modern turbine-generating units capable of generating approximately 27 MW of clean electricity, about three MW more than the plant’s current capacity, or a 13% increase.

Meanwhile, the four existing generating units and ancillary equipment will be removed from the current powerhouse, which will be maintained in its original location. The four existing penstocks will also be removed and replaced with new penstocks. Finally, the project will replace the plant’s surge tank, which is used to manage abrupt changes in water pressure.

“This important project will help maintain and build on the legacy of Kakabeka Falls GS, which has provided clean power for Ontario for more than a century,” said Paul Seguin, OPG’s Senior Vice-President of Renewable Generation. “With modern equipment and increased clean generating capacity, the redeveloped Kakabeka Falls GS will help OPG and Ontario meet its net-zero goals while supporting province-wide electrification for decades to come.”

Located within the traditional territory of the Fort William First Nation, near the Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, the project is expected to generate economic benefits for local Indigenous communities, in support of OPG’s Reconciliation Action Plan.

OPG has been working closely with the Fort William First Nation to ensure the community’s consultation and input are considered from the onset, starting with the preliminary planning stages of the project.

Originally built by the Kaministiquia Power Company to help power the area’s burgeoning flour milling industries, Kakabeka Falls GS started with two units before quickly expanding. A third unit was added in 1911 and a fourth unit was installed in 1914. Ontario Hydro, OPG’s predecessor company, purchased the station in 1949.

Today, Kakabeka Falls GS is one of 11 hydro stations owned and operated by OPG in northwestern Ontario.