Federal Court orders new probe into explosion at Callide C power station

A court has ordered a new probe into the catastrophic failings at the Callide C power station almost three years since a massive explosion caused almost 500,000 Queenslanders to lose power.

A fresh investigation into the catastrophic failings at the troubled Callide C power station has been ordered by the Federal Court, almost three years since a massive explosion caused almost half a million Queenslanders to lose power.

Czech-based company Sev.en Global Investments launched legal action late last year in a bid to secure a new independent investigation, with the company’s boss earlier this month slamming the “ongoing lack of transparency” over what caused multiple failures at the plant.

Callide C Power Station. Photo: Orin Lucke.

Chief executive Alan Svoboda welcomed the decision approve the company’s request to appoint Special Purpose Administrators to investigate the explosion which occurred at the C4 unit at the power station in 2021 - which left 470,000 people without power - and a cooling tower collapse in 2022.

“We appreciate the court’s decision. The comprehensive and impartial examination of the circumstances and causes leading to Callide’s C unit 4 turbine explosion in 2021 and unit 3 cooling tower structural collapse in 2022 will help achieve transparency and assist in the recovery of Callide C as well as upholding industry standards across the rest of the state’s critical energy infrastructure,” Mr Svoboda said.

“We will finally be delivered answers, whether it was possible to prevent the failures.”

The Queensland government appointed forensic engineer Sean Brady to conduct an investigation into the C4 Unit shortly after the incident in mid-2021, but any findings made by Dr Brady have not been made public.

The appointed independent administrators will immediately begin their investigations into the causes of and understanding who was responsible for the catastrophes at Callide C.

Sev.en Global Investments is a part-owner of Genuity, which holds a 50 per cent stake in Callide C but which was put into voluntary administration last March after a dispute between the owners over funding.