Closing date for Port Augusta power stations extended by around five weeks

A NEW date has been set for the closure of Port Augusta’s power stations — but will it change again?

Alinta Energy Power plant worker Gary Rowbottom outside the Port Augusta plant after it was announced it will close next year with lost of 400 jobs.

ALINTA Energy has extended the closing date of its Port Augusta power stations by five weeks after re-evaluating the level of its coal stockpile.

Touted for a March 31 closure, it is now expected that the Northern power station will operate up until May 8, however, an Alinta spokeswoman said it is possible that the closing date will again be amended. The older Playford power station has been mothballed for a number of years.

“With coal, it’s very hard to pinpoint exactly when it will run out as many factors, such as the quality of the remaining coal, must be taken into consideration,” the spokeswoman said.

“March 31 was always a forecast date, not an exact one, and this is again true about May 8.”

Australian Services Union secretary (SA/NT) Joseph Scales said an urgent meeting of all

unions had been called to discuss the latest development. Arrangements for a meeting between Alinta management, unions and delegates, are also underway.

Mr Scales said ASU members may have concerns about how the extension of the closing date will impact on their redundancy payments or ability to leave the business for another job.

Around 185 jobs will be lost when the power stations close.

“We have called on Alinta to pay full redundancies to anyone who has made preparations to leave the company in line with original closure schedule, due to securing further employment or other family reasons,” Mr Scales said.

In response, Alinta said that its workers remain the number one priority.

“We appreciate that this change may impact some of our employees,” the spokeswoman said.

“We will continue to support those employees and all of our people in successfully transitioning to new employment through a range of support services tailored to suit our employees’ needs.”

The Leigh Creek mine that served the power stations closed in November, coming at a cost of more than 250 jobs. A small number of Alinta employees remain in the town, 250km north of Port Augusta, to assist with the mine’s rehabilitation and to service the township, as required in its contract with the State Government.

The two parties remain in discussions regarding the exact requirements for the mine’s rehabilitation.

Former Labor minister Jane Lomax-Smith is currently undertaking a “request for information” process that is exploring Leigh Creek business ideas. The findings will be reported to Premier Jay Weatherill once submissions close on January 31.

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