Ontario’s nuclear comedy show

a storyline where the plant is paid millions of dollars not to generate electricity. Too ridiculous? Well, head on over to Ontario in Canada where the people there ‘paid Bruce Power nearly $60 million in 2009 to not generate electricity for the province’…The people of Ontario got ‘a bargain’ for handing over $60 million for something they didn’t need and didn’t get.

Nuclear power in Canada: busy doing nothing Greenpeace International, by Justin – September 30, 2010 Regular readers are probably asking themselves how our plans for a comedy show set in a nuclear power plant are progressing. You know, the one where the security fences are guarded by janitors, the robots in the waste facility have minds of their own, the workers sleep on the job and watch Internet porn, the guards arrest pigeons and shoot radioactive seagulls, somebody’s painted the reactor building with paint mixed with heavy water, the nuclear waste storage pond is leaking into the plant’s laundry room, and the workers are told not to have children.

We were also thinking of adding a storyline where the plant is paid millions of dollars not to generate electricity. Too ridiculous? Well, head on over to Ontario in Canada where the people there ‘paid Bruce Power nearly $60 million in 2009 to not generate electricity for the province’…

A deal between the nuclear generator, a private company, and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) sets out a guarantee for a certain amount of power to be purchased — even if it’s not needed […] In 2009, demand for electricity was down in Ontario, largely as a result of the recession. This meant Bruce’s nuclear reactors weren’t operating at full capacity.

It’s a lovely piece of spin, making a virtue out of one of nuclear power’s many faults and problems: it’s complete inflexibility in the face of fluctuating demand. You can’t quickly, easily or cheaply ramp up or down electricity generation levels in a nuclear reactor like you can with safer renewable alternatives. So, they have to be ‘on’ all the time. But don’t worry because…

…Ihe OPA said taxpayers actually got a bargain through the arrangement with Bruce.

Isn’t that nice? The people of Ontario got ‘a bargain’ for handing over $60 million for something they didn’t need and didn’t get. Try the same strategy with your boss today. Put your feet up on your desk and do nothing but still demand your salary. Say you’re not working today but your boss is still getting ‘a bargain’. Tell him or her you’ll write that report later when it’s really needed. Let us know what happens.

Nuclear power in Canada: busy doing nothing | Greenpeace International