Callide Unit C4 recovery
The safety and wellbeing of our people is our priority following the incident in Unit C4 at Callide Power Station.
BACKGROUND
Callide Power Station is comprised of two power plants, Callide B and C, each with two generating units (B1 and B2, C3 and C4). CS Energy owns 100 per cent of Callide B and owns Callide C in a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with InterGen Australia.
On 25 May 2021 an incident occurred on Unit C4, which resulted in an explosion and substantial damage to the unit, forcing it offline. Shortly afterwards Callide’s other operating units tripped and went offline.
Our first priority was to make sure workers and the Callide site were safe. The power station was fully evacuated and nobody was injured.
In the days and weeks that followed, our focus was on helping our Callide team deal with this traumatic incident and safely bring the power station’s other units back online, which collectively account for 1,120 megawatts of capacity.
An independent investigation has been commissioned to understand what caused this incident, so that we can learn from it and prevent it from happening again.
CALLIDE POWER RECOVERY
Safety was front of mind as we worked to progressively return Callide’s other three generating units to service. At CS Energy, safety takes priority over electricity production – at all times, and in every part of our business.
After a tremendous effort involving more than 300 employees and contractors, both B station units were returned to service in June and Unit C3 went back online in July.
The Callide C Power Station Joint Venture (JV) has revised its forecast return to service date for Unit C4.
The JV has advised the market that Unit C4’s return to service date has changed from 1 February 2023 to 7 April 2023.
This changed return to service date is based on an improved understanding of the condition of the unit, the components that will need to be replaced and the resulting schedule and repair work required.
Returning Unit C4 to service is a unique and complex project. The return to service date is based on the information that the JV has available at this point in time and may be subject to further change.
It not unusual for generators to adjust their return to service dates for units that are undergoing major maintenance or repairs, depending on issues identified during the process.
INVESTIGATION
CS Energy is committed to understanding the facts that led to the C4 event so we can learn from it and improve the safety of our people and plant.
Forensic engineer Dr Sean Brady has been engaged to lead an external, independent investigation and review. Dr Brady is based in Queensland and recently completed the Brady Review, an investigation into the causes of fatalities in the state’s mining and quarrying industry.
We have shared our initial learnings from the C4 event with other power stations operators and we will also share the findings from the independent investigation with them.
There are other stakeholders investigating what has occurred at Callide, including Workplace Health & Safety Queensland and the Australian Energy Market Operator.
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Cause
It's too early to speculate about cause of the incident on Unit C4. Forensic engineer Dr Sean Brady is leading an external, independent investigation and review of the incident on Unit C4.
The scope of the investigation will be broad in nature and will assess both technical and organisational factors that could have contributed to the C4 incident.
A report will be published with findings from the investigation so that the lessons learned can be shared with our peers in the power generation industry.
Investigation
Dr Brady has been given the authority to expand the scope of the investigation based on progressive findings. As a result, the timeframes for finalising the investigation cannot be confirmed at this stage and will instead be provided as the investigation progresses and more information becomes available.
Repairs to C4
CS Energy owns Callide C in a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with InterGen Australia. The JV has advised the market that Unit C4’s return to service date has changed from 1 February 2023 to 7 April 2023.
This changed return to service date is based on an improved understanding of the condition of the unit, the components that will need to be replaced and the resulting schedule and repair work required.
Returning Unit C4 to service is a unique and complex project. The return to service date is based on the information that the JV has available at this point in time and may be subject to further change.
CS Energy and our JV partner InterGen Australia are developing a plan to replace the C4 turbine and generator, and we are working closely with our respective insurers on the potential cost and timeline.