OPG Invests in Clean Energy at South Falls Generation Station

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) continues to invest in the province’s hydroelectric heritage as it adds additional clean, renewable hydropower to 109-year-old South Falls Generation Station near Bracebridge, ON.

Installation of a new 1.5 megawatt generating unit is increasing output. The station now produces enough electricity to power about 3,000 homes each year.

“We’re proud stewards of Ontario’s hydroelectric assets,” says Peter Murray OPG’s Central Plant Manager. “It’s amazing to realize this station has been providing customers with clean, low cost power since 1907.”

Construction on the three-unit station began in the summer of 2015. The old unit had to be chipped out of 100 year-old concrete and replaced. The new unit is more than twice the size and uses existing water flows more efficiently.

South Falls GS is located on the Muskoka River, approximately 10 km south of Bracebridge. It’s an important part of OPG’s diverse generating fleet, which helps moderate the overall cost of electricity in the province. OPG receives a regulated price of 4.5 cents per kilo watt-hour (kWh) for the electricity produced by hydro stations like South Falls. In 2015, OPG received an average of 6.6 cents/kWh for our electricity while other generators received on average 11 cents. That is about 40% less than the rest of the market. OPG provides about half the power Ontario relies on and its electricity is more than 99% free of greenhouse gas and smog causing emissions.

Photo courtesy of Ontario Hydro.