A major central Queensland power station is completely offline after multiple equipment failures leaving workers worried

The Mining and Energy Union said today that workers at Callide Power Station are worried about their safety and the plant’s future operation, as all units have been shut down due to malfunctions.

MEU Queensland Vice President Shane Brunker said Callide was today in ‘black start’ mode, meaning it is completely offline. 

Callide B and C are two generating stations that form part of a coal-fired station. Each generating station provides baseload electricity to the national grid.

CS Energy, the state-owned company, owns 100 per cent of Callide B and is in a joint venture with InterGen for Callide C.

Mr Brunker says workers have been alarmed to look up and see plumes of steam and dust, they are very concerned about what’s going on at Callide.

“We are relieved no-one has been hurt during the failures and malfunctions this week, but it has been a real possibility.”

“At this stage it’s not clear that CS Energy site management is able to get the power station back up and running.”

“Callide Power Station is crucial for providing baseline power for Queensland. This week’s events confirm workers’ fears that investment in maintenance of the power station has been neglected in the race to shut down coal power and move to renewables.” says Brunker

“We need the Queensland Government to step in and ensure Callide is being responsibly managed and maintenance and repair is prioritised – not only to get the power station back up and running but to keep it operating safely in the years ahead.

“The focus should be on investing in the existing fleet and exploring opportunities to improve them rather than running them down. This should include carbon capture and storage which has been proven in Queensland already including at Callide A.”  he said

A catastrophic incident less than two years ago at the C4 unit of the station resulted in power outages for 470,000 homes and businesses across Queensland.