Callide coal plant explosion investigation referred to workplace health and safety prosecutor

Queensland’s workplace health and safety prosecutor is considering legal action against over a catastrophic coal-fired power station explosion that cut generating capacity from the east coast grid.

Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

Queensland’s workplace health and safety prosecutor is considering legal action against the ­government-owned operator of one of the state’s biggest coal-fired power stations over a catastrophic explosion that cut generating capacity from the east coast grid.

No public explanation has been given for the explosion at Callide C power station in May 2021 that caused widespread blackouts to 470,000 homes and businesses across Queensland.

Queensland government-owned CS Energy, which operates and owns half of Callide C, commissioned forensic engineer Sean Brady to investigate the failure in June 2021 but his report is yet to be released.

The Australian can reveal a separate investigation by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland into the turbine explosion at Callide has concluded and its findings have been referred to the regulator’s prosecutorial arm.

Mining and Energy Union district vice-president Shane Brunker, who said he believed poor maintenance was to blame for failures at the plant, said the referral was “good news” and he hoped those responsible would be held to account. “They have been diligent and obviously found issues there and referred it,” he said. “Given the magnitude of the event, it was sheer one in 4000 chance that no one was killed.”

Mr Brunker said it was “very strange” that both insurers of the plant and WHSQ had completed investigations but there was still no public explanation as to what caused the explosion.

WHSQ would not release details of its investigation to The Australian, but confirmed “findings have now been referred to the independent WHS Prosecutor”. Another investigation into the collapse of a cooling tower at the power in October 2022 is still under way.

Neither Energy Minister Mick de Brenni nor CS Energy has been sent a copy of the investigative report but a CS Energy spokeswoman said: “We have been working co-operatively with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland as part of their review into the Unit C4 incident.”

Federal Court judge Roger Derrington on Monday ordered special purpose administrators be appointed to investigate the causes of the 2021 explosion and 2022 partial collapse of the cooling tower at the central Queensland plant.

Mr Brenni, Treasurer Cameron Dick and former CS Energy chair Jim Soorley could be forced to give evidence under oath about the twin failures.

The Australian understands that as well as hiring a technical expert, the new administrators – FTI Consulting’s John Park and Benjamin Campbell – will hold public examinations of key witnesses in the Federal Court.

A Federal Court hearing could be held in the first half of this year, and issue coercive summonses to witnesses with relevant information about the operation, funding and maintenance of the power plant in the lead-up to the catastrophic events.

Potential witnesses include current and former board members, experts, and the entity’s shareholding ministers, Mr de Brenni and Mr Dick.

Spending on repairs and maintenance at the Callide plant will be a major focus.

Mr de Brenni has been Energy Minister since November 2020; his predecessor, Mark Bailey, could also be called as a witness if the investigation stretches back to the election of the Palaszczuk government in 2015.

Mr Dick has been Treasurer since May 2020, when he succeeded former deputy premier Jackie Trad. Former Brisbane lord mayor Jim Soorley was chair of the board of CS Energy from 2015 to mid-last year.