OPG Consulting history

In 1916, OPG’s predecessor, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, acquired the station.

Construction on the plant began in May 1920.

The 10-unit, 446-megawatt (MW) station first began producing power toward the end of 1921 under its original name, the Queenston-Chippawa Hydroelectric Plant.

It’s a unique partnership that began back in 1928, when OPG’s predecessor, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, struck a deal with the Chats Falls Power Company, later absorbed by Hydro-Québec, on the development and operation of a powerhouse on the Ottawa River.

Despite the challenges, by October 1931, the first units went into service.

The station was officially opened on June 28, 1950, by then-Ontario Hydro chairman, Robert H. Saunders, and the late Ontario Premier Leslie Frost.

In addition to the unit overhauls, the project team at Otto Holden will be upgrading the original headgate controls from 1952 to modern standards.

The agreement, previously signed more than 40 years ago in 1977, provides a framework for how Chats Falls GS is operated and maintained, and how costs are recovered, allowing both utilities to share their strength, expertise and experience.

Beginning in 1988, more than 60 years after going into service, the station’s units underwent major overhauls with stator rewinds and thrust bearing and turbine bearing replacements.

Another interesting tidbit is that, up until 1994, it shared the exact same design as another OPG hydro station, Frankford GS, which sits just eight kilometres away and went into service two years after Sidney.

In 2009, Kinectrics acquired Candesco Corporation of Toronto, Ontario.

In 2010, Kinectrics opened a new branch office in Pickering, Ontario to enhance and expedite qualified technical support for Ontario's existing and future nuclear generation infrastructure in the Pickering and Darlington areas.