Bruce Power joins Bruce County on new regional economic development initiative

Bruce Power and Bruce County have teamed up to establish and support a new regional economic development and innovation initiative.

The goal is to leverage economic opportunities for local communities, given the multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment program announced by Bruce Power last December.

 

“Given the large-scale investment, training and job creation opportunities of Bruce Power’s multi-year investment program, we all recognized the importance of establishing a consolidated, co-ordinated approach to economic development as it relates to the company’s investment activities and other opportunities for innovation,” said Kelley Coulter, the county's chief administrative officer.

“Bruce Power has always had a positive and engaging working relationship with its neighbours. This approach is not only practical but will be viewed as a model across the province as something very unique and innovative.”

 

A jointly-funded business investment specialist position has been created as the one-point-of-contact to facilitate a range of economic development and innovation ideas as part of the refurbishment program at Bruce Power, in addition to the company’s core economic impact through operations.

Stellina Williams, the county’s new business investment specialist, will progress and facilitate the initiative which will be launched at an Economic Development and Innovation Summit in Kincardine, Sept. 14.

 

An advisory committee, with representatives from Bruce, Grey and Huron counties, will also be established this fall with the goal of bringing together key leaders and organizations from across the region to support the development of a strategic plan and interim actions to advance a number of immediate opportunities. The goal of this committee will be to provide input and advice on the development and implementation of a strategy, while also serving as a resource to facilitate opportunities.

 

“To be successful with our multi-year investment program it’s essential we work together, since we are all in this together,” said James Scongack, Bruce Power’s vice-president, corporate affairs. “We have a shared responsibility to ensure we are looking at the many opportunities available to us, to both enhance economic development in the region and also position the site for long-term success.

 

“This initiative will bring together our region in a way that will allow us to leverage the important opportunities that this multi-year investment program could provide the communities for many years.”

Sept. 14, Bruce Power and Bruce County will host an Economic Development and Innovation Summit in Kincardine to formally launch the initiative, which will bring together the advisory committee and key community leaders. The Summit will also feature a number of guest speakers, including Robert Lavigne, OMERS managing director, economic research; Michael Fenn, former Ontario deputy minister and OMERS AC director; and Mike Rencheck, president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power.

 

In 2015, Bruce Power and the Independent Electricity System Operator secured a long-term agreement that will see Bruce Power provide 6,300 megawatts through 2063 through a multi-year investment program known as Major Component Replacement. According to a joint study released by the Ontario Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, Southwest Economic Alliance, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, The Society of Energy Professionals and the Power Workers’ Union, the investment will annually secure 18,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, from operations, and an additional 3,000 to 5,000 jobs annually on the Bruce Power site, injecting billions into Ontario’s economy.