Industrial action spreads to power as Kogan Creek hit

afr.com:

Industrial action is set to disrupt operations from Thursday at one of Queensland’s biggest power stations, posing a fresh threat to the east coast’s electricity grid already under strain due to an extended unit closure.

The Mining and Energy Union has advised of potential widespread power disruptions in the state because of protected industrial action that is due to commence at the 750-megawatt Kogan Creek generator.

MEU Queensland district vice-president Shane Brunker warned of “dire consequences for energy security running into the peak period of summer power generation” in the absence of direction from government to state-owned CS Energy, the plant owner, at the negotiating table.

CS Energy’s Callide power station near Biloela has not been running at full capacity since 2021.  

“Thursday will be just the start of it,” Mr Brunker told The Australian Financial Review, noting that while initial planned action – involving bans on working at height and in confined spaces – would likely impact maintenance work due next week, it could start to impact generation output in the following days and weeks.

He said future action could involve running the power station flat out round-the-clock, instead of scaling output back when wholesale power prices drop to near zero or below during the day, or, running it at a much-reduced rate even in the peak-demand evening periods.

Both those strategies would significantly cut the earnings made from the generator, near Chinchilla, which supplies 10 per cent of Queensland’s power and much of northern NSW.

The union representing operators, fitters, electricians and power workers secured the right from the Fair Work Commission last week to take protected industrial action. The dispute relates