Australia's largest coal-fired power plant Eraring to stay open for two extra years

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Eraring Power Station in Lake Macquarie will remain open for an additional two years beyond its original 2025 closure date in a deal between Origin and the NSW state government.

Transcript

00:00The year was 1984 and then-Premier Neville Wran was opening a shiny new power station

00:07on the shores of Lake Araring.

00:10Now in 2024, the Labor Government's putting taxpayers' money on the line to prevent

00:15its planned closure next year.

00:17This ensures that the transition to renewables can be delivered without exposing the people

00:22of New South Wales to blackouts or to price spikes.

00:26Under the deal, if Origin Energy makes losses at Araring, New South Wales taxpayers will

00:31cover 80 per cent of them, capped at $225 million a year for two years.

00:37But if the operation manages to turn a profit, taxpayers will get 20 per cent of that, capped

00:42at $40 million a year.

00:44That is a good deal for the operator of the power station, but not a good deal for citizens

00:48of this state.

00:49Origin gets to decide each year whether it opts into the profit-sharing deal, but if

00:54it doesn't, taxpayers won't have to cover its losses.

00:57I think it's actually a very sensible and well-crafted arrangement.

01:02Origin will be required to generate power at roughly half Araring's total capacity and

01:07keep most of its 220 workers.

01:10It's provided another two years of security for our employees, so that's been very welcome

01:15for them.

01:16But it also puts more pressure on the planet.

01:19It's deeply disappointing, millions of tonnes of emissions going into the atmosphere for

01:24yet another two years.

01:26The Federal Coalition insists nuclear energy could help cut emissions and deliver a stable

01:31supply.

01:32You can't live in this mystical world where you just believe the lights turn on by chance

01:37each day.

01:38You need to have stability in the system.

01:39Peter Dutton keeps promising detail and substance and costings, but we haven't had anyone put

01:47their hand up and say they're prepared to finance it.

01:50The state government's still banking on renewables, but it's taking out insurance.

01:56Potentially paying a private company hundreds of millions of dollars to burn coal is politically

02:01risky for the Premier, but the government's decided the damage caused by potential blackouts

02:06or price spikes could be much greater.

02:09I don't think any sensible government would accept that you roll the dice and you just

02:14suggest that it'll be right, mate, because it's not going to be.

02:18And it could mean lights out for any government that gets that gamble wrong.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended