Minns blasts $3b price tag for keeping power station going
NSW Premier Chris Minns has rubbished claims it would cost taxpayers $3 billion to keep the giant Eraring coal-fired power station running for two years beyond its current used-by date to fill supply gaps as the state transitions to more renewable energy.
As the government prepares to publicly respond to advice that it should ask Origin Energy to extend the life of Eraring, Mr Minns on Monday rejected the figure former state energy minister Matt Kean said he had been advised it would cost taxpayers to keep the plant open.
“I don’t know where he got those numbers from,” Mr Minns said, blasting the former treasurer’s comments as “completely cynical”.
Origin’s Eraring coal power generator, the country’s largest, is due to close in just over two years. Bloomberg
“He’s responsible for the fact that renewable energy production is delayed in NSW, it’s over budget and he didn’t tell anyone before the last election.”
In the state budget in two weeks, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey is expected to announce a plan to lift mining royalties, with part of the windfall to be put towards helping households with the cost of living, including big power bills.
Pressure is building on the Minns government to release its “check up” of the state’s power supply, which has implications for the budget and its position on Eraring, which has the capacity to power about 25 per cent of state’s electricity needs but is closing in August 2025.
The report, completed by energy expert Cameron O’Reilly, recommends a partial extension to a plan to shut Eraring in two years, in a bid to provide additional capacity in the state’s energy supply as a renewables build-out takes longer than expected.
Separately, the Australian Energy Market Operator said in a major
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