New LNP government announces $1.4bn maintenance guarantee for coal-fired power stations
More than $1bn of taxpayer money will be spent maintaining Queensland’s fleet of coal-fired power stations to ensure the state has ‘reliable and affordable’ electricity.
More than $1bn of taxpayer money will be spent maintaining Queensland’s fleet of coal-fired power stations to ensure the state has “reliable and affordable” electricity as the Crisafulli government prepares to dump legislated renewable energy and emission reduction targets.
Government-owned power corporation executives’ bonuses will also be tied to strict key performance benchmarks of the plants, following the Labor government’s near-decade tenure where disastrous failures and explosions at a coal-fired power station caused supply problems.
An explosion at the trouble-prone Callide power station in May 2021 immediately stripped 10 per cent of Queensland’s generating capacity from the east coast grid and caused widespread blackouts to 470,000 homes and businesses across the state.
An investigative report into the explosion by forensic engineer Sean Brady found a backlog of maintenance at the facility and a failure to implement a system of “process safety practices” that could have identified the risks of a catastrophic incident.
Announcing a $1.4bn electricity maintenance guarantee in state parliament on Thursday, Treasurer David Janetzki said state-owned energy companies would be funded to deliver five-year maintenance programs to ensure long-term reliability of Queensland’s power generators.
“Despite Labor’s rivers of gold in revenue, they failed to allocate funds for adequate maintenance at power plants, leading to the Callide explosion,” he said.
“We’re being clear to power executives: no key performance indicator delivery, no bonus.
“Inadequate maintenance was a key concern for years leading up to the Callide catastrophe and the resulting power-price hikes cost Queenslanders every time they switched the lights on.”
Mr Janetzki said executives at Queensland’s three major state-owned energy companies had pocketed more than $2m in performance bonuses in the past five years. Under the new guarantee, they will be refused bonuses unless new KPIs on maintenance, personal safety, process safety, and plant performance are met.
“Our electricity maintenance guarantee will ensure Queensland’s energy assets are never left in a state of neglect again,” he said.
The funding announcement comes as the LNP government prepares to formally repeal the state’s legislated target of 80 per cent renewable energy by 2035.
Premier David Crisafulli indicated during the October election campaign that a separate legislated target – to slash 75 per cent of carbon emissions by 2035 – would also be dumped.
Queensland Conservation Council campaigner Stephanie Gray said despite maintenance guarantees, coal-fired power stations would “continue to have breakdowns and struggle to compete against renewable energy”.
“Right now in NSW they’re seeing unplanned coal outages putting the grid at risk of blackouts because Australia’s ageing coal clunkers are reaching the end of their technical lives, they’re inflexible and they struggle in the heat,” she said.
“In Queensland our renewable energy targets and clear policy signals have meant to date the state is an attractive place for clean energy investors, which is why we have a strong pipeline of projects and are on track to meet the targets.
“If the new Queensland government is serious about long-term reliability, affordability and sustainability, then they should maintain our renewable energy targets and urgently deliver a plan to reach them.”