$80m overhaul needed to extend life of Eraring power station

An $80 million overhaul has just begun at Australia’s largest coal-fired power station so the lights don’t go out. Watch the video.

An $80 million overhaul has just begun at Australia’s largest coal-fired power station as its owner prepares to operate the plant beyond its original closure deadline so the lights don’t go out.

With the renewables rollout proving far more problematic than proponents predicted, the life of the 2.9 gigawatt Eraring plant in the NSW Hunter Valley has been extended by at least two years under a controversial deal the NSW government forged with the plant’s owner, Origin, in May.

Eraring is not the first coal-fired plant to have its closure postponed. The Victorian government did it for both the Yallourn and Loy Yang A power stations. And there is speculation that Yallourn’s final day will have to be pushed out again.

Eraring began producing electricity in 1982 and was due to shut in August 2025.

But it will now provide electricity until at least August 2027 and possibly well into 2029, to create more time for batteries and other power storage projects to be completed.

Origin Energy's Eraring Power Station. Picture: Supplied

For its first 25 years, Eraring’s four units ran at full tilt, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Then it went through a period in which its peak production was during the middle of the day and its low output was in the wee hours.

“Now we are 180 degrees out from where we used to be,” control room shift manager Jonathon Lawless said this week, as the plant began to gear up for the late afternoon and evening peak and run solidly through the night, supplying the grid as solar energy diminishes to nothing.

When the sun is shining brightly around lunch time, Eraring can find itself operating at a loss because the market price of power is negative.

In those times, Eraring gives away its energy, because that is less costly than switching off the plant. To minimise losses, the plant recently got the approval to run at a new low output of 180MW per unit, down from 210MW.

The high voltage switchyard at Eraring. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Of course, the sun doesn’t always shine nor the wind blow, and recently Eraring had to run as hard as it could – over 700MW per unit – for 12 days straight during a renewables drought so load shedding and brownouts were avoided.

A major scheduled maintenance program recently began, involving hundreds of additional workers. These include specialist divers who inspect canals that supply up to 11 billion litres of cooling water from nearby Lake Macquarie, as well as engineers from South Korea and Japan who help with repairs to the giant turbines their companies installed at the site more than 40 years ago.

They are revamping the third of Eraring’s four units, meaning it can run for another five years. The scope of the overhaul was expanded following the extension deal with the NSW government.

Origin asset services manager Antony Cotic said even 20 years ago, people didn’t think about where their power came from.

But now, everyone seems to have an opinion, he added.

A stockpile of coal at Eraring Power Station. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Coal-fired power has become much-maligned, and “there is a level of frustration” among Eraring workers at the lack of understanding about the critical role the plant plays in keeping the lights on.

“I certainly am very proud to work here and put energy out to the community,” Mr Cotic said.

Eraring has about 200 permanent staff. Mr Cotic said “the vast majority of people were very happy to see the extension” of the plant.

A large battery is also being built at the site. It will ultimately employ three workers.

Originally published as $80m overhaul needed to extend life of Eraring power station