Unpacked: How the Callide ‘cover up’ is plaguing the Miles government

At 2.06pm on May 25, 2021, almost half a million Queenslanders lost power after an explosion at Callide Power Station. Three years on, it has become political storm.

Operators inside the Callide Power Station were confronted by 15,000 alarms on May 25, 2021 as a fault within Unit C4 spiralled out of control.

A problem battery charger led to a series of failings, culminating in a spectacular explosion at 2.06pm that cut power to 470,000 people and was lucky not to claim a life.

What caused the catastrophic explosion has been the subject of a three-year probe by forensic engineer Sean Brady and sparked a political storm that has led to calls for the energy minister’s resignation.

An explosion at the Callide Power Station cut power to almost half a million Queensland homes and businesses. Picture: Orin Lucke

In the minutes after the explosion almost half-a-million Queenslanders lost power, sparking concerns of ongoing blackouts as the station was evacuated.

Soon, the state’s diversified energy assets kicked into gear to keep the lights on in the state’s critical infrastructure.

Residents were asked that night to conserve power.

THE FALLOUT

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli in the days following travelled to Callide Power Station to meet with workers and declare he believed the state government had a hand in the explosion.

Mr Crisafulli, without publicly revealing his reasonings, questioned whether maintenance played a part.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni the day after the explosion declared “we can guarantee that all of the maintenance work that is required to be done on all of our power stations has been done”.

Some two weeks after the explosion CS Energy appointed forensic engineer Sean Brady to get to the bottom of what happened.

Critically, it determined Dr Brady would undertake a “highly complex investigation” and he would be given the authority to expand it based on progressive findings.

It meant, the time frames for finalising the investigation “cannot be confirmed at this stage and will instead be provided as the investigation progresses”.

Three years after that statement, CS Energy is yet to provide an indication on when Dr Brady will finish his report.

REIGNITED

A draft version of the Brady report was released last week after snippets were read out in the Federal Court during a case involving CS Energy.

It revealed maintenance contributed to the explosion, but was not its cause.

The LNP seized on the report, crowing it had been right about the government’s failings on maintenance.

It cited an Auditor General’s report that found the Callide explosion – and the station remaining offline – was among a range of factors that contributed to Queenslanders paying higher power prices.

Premier Steven Miles.

The draft Brady report also revealed the government owned corporation was urged to save costs instead of investing in new or existing assets.

Mr de Brenni and Premier Steven Miles say the government provided every dollar CS Energy asked for to maintain the power station and there is nothing in the Brady report to dispute this.

POLITICS

The LNP, led by Mr Crisafulli, deputy Jarrod Bleijie and energy spokeswoman Deb Frecklington, argued time was up for Mr de Brenni and called on him to resign.

Days of pressure about what the government did and did not know about maintenance at Callide Power Station prompted the embattled energy minister, who had scheduled leave, to return and face the press.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli.

Sensationally, he declared former CS Energy chair Jim Soorley and CEO Andrew Bills misled him about the state of maintenance at Callide Power Station – claiming it was up to date.

“The CEO and the chair told me that. They told me that in writing. I looked him in the eye multiple times and asked them to confirm that with me unequivocally,” Mr de Brenni said.

Why Mr de Brenni did not check earlier about whether maintenance was up to date remains unanswered.

Mr Miles on Monday denied it was wilful ignorance.

It is a saga that has overshadowed the government’s sale of its landmark cost of living measures just four months out from an election polls indicate it will easily lose.