Seventh delay flagged to reconstruction of Callide C Power Station

Queenslanders are set to pay more and more on their power bills following another key setback. ALL THE DETAILS

The return to service of one of Queensland’s biggest power generators has been delayed a seventh time in what has been labelled a “huge cost-of-living blow” that will drive power prices higher.

Government-owned CS Energy on Monday revealed further delays to the commissioning of two units at the Callide C Power Station, blaming the summer’s destructive weather and the complexity of the “nature of the work”.

It said the partial return to service of Callide C’s Unit C3 would not occur on February 29, delayed from January 24.

It means the full commissioning of Unit C3 has been delayed again, from February 18 to March 31.

CS Energy chief executive Darren Busine. Picture: Liam Kidston

Callide’s Unit C4, which exploded in May 2021 and plunged thousands of Queenslanders into darkness for hours, has also been delayed with the unit to partially return to service at 210 MW on June 30, more than a month after the previous target of May 19.

It is forecast to hit the full 420MW capacity on July 31, 25 days later than planned.

CS Energy chief executive Darren Busine said the reconstruction of the cooling towers and reinstatement of the unit was “one of the most complex of its kind undertaken in this country in the last 20 years”.

“Unsurprisingly, like much of Queensland, we experienced severe weather conditions at the site in late December and in early January, including extreme heat, heavy rainfall, wind and lightning,” he said.

“Adding to this, as we’ve entered the final stages of construction on Unit Three, the nature of the work has become more complicated and this complexity has impacted on the schedule.”

The government-owned entity and state government have been widely criticised for the slow release of the independent report into the catastrophic explosion.

Callide Power Station. Picture: William Debois

Mr Busine said the assessment from forensic engineer Sean Brady – which he described as a “complex forensic investigation” – was in its final stages but could not provide a specific date for its release.

“In the meantime, we have a number of learnings that we have gleaned from our own investigations, from the work that the energy market operator has done, and from the work Dr Brady has been doing with us to understand the causes of the incident,” he said.

“We will be able to use that information and our plan is to release in the coming weeks our understanding and our learnings so that we can share that information.”

LNP energy spokeswoman Deb Frecklington slammed the missed deadline and argued it translated to a “huge cost-of-living blow” for Queenslanders.

“This is the seventh time Labor has broken their promise to restore the critical power plant,” she said.

LNP energy spokeswoman Deb Frecklington. Picture: Richard Walker

“With another deadline missed, Queenslanders need to know what is happening with Callide C and when will it finally be restored.”

But Mr Busine insists the further delays would not affect household power prices.

“Wholesale electricity prices over the last 12 months in quarter one have come down around 50 per cent,” he said.

“We don’t expect this short delay is going to cause a material change to the wholesale contract prices or the prices for consumers.”

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said the report from Dr Brady, when eventually completed, would provide crucial insights to prevent another catastrophic explosion.

“As per the commitment given when the review was initiated, CS Energy has informed me it will be in a position to present technical findings from the investigation in the near future, so that the lessons learned can be shared with its peers in the generation industry,” he said.

“I am advised that Queensland will continue to have sufficient supply and reserve to meet forecasted demand, even with the updated return to service.”