Update #2: Outage at Durham York Energy Centre

Whitby, Ontario – The Regional Municipality of Durham would like to advise the public that after assessing the condition of boiler #2—which is currently undergoing repairs to a damaged water tube—as a precautionary step, Covanta the operator of the Durham York Energy Centre (DYEC) has decided to take boiler #1 offline as well to assess its condition. Covanta began a controlled shut down process on boiler #1, late on Sunday evening; it went off line early Monday morning.

"The facility operator, Covanta, has shutdown boiler #1 to do some preliminary investigation prior to the annual scheduled maintenance," explained Susan Siopis, Commissioner of Works. "Annual scheduled maintenance is routine for an energy-from-waste facility like the Durham York Energy Centre and due to the condition of the water tubes in boiler #2, there will be additional focus on this area."

The water tubing in boiler #1 will undergo thorough testing to determine whether it can be put back in service while boiler #2 is being repaired. The repairs on boiler #2 are expected to take several weeks, after which the two-week annual scheduled maintenance for boiler #1 will begin immediately. Waste collection services will not be affected by the temporary outage. ‎‎

The Durham York Energy Centre, located in Courtice, is Durham Region’s primary long-term disposal option for waste and only processes the household waste remaining after Durham and York Regions’ aggressive composting, recycling and reuse programs. Both regions are leaders in waste diversion with diversion rates consistently above 50 percent. For more information on the Durham York Energy Centre, visit www.durhamyorkwaste.ca, call 1-800-667-5671, or emailinfo@durhamyorkwaste.ca.

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