Carbon tax casualty: NSW power plant forced to close

04/07/2012 - The carbon tax has been partially blamed for the closure of a coal-fired power station on the NSW Central Coast.

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Delta Electricity, a state-owned generator, on Tuesday announced the closure of Munmorah power station.

While the station has not operated since August 2010, the utility company said the federal government's $23-a-tonne carbon tax was a factor in its decision.

"The imposition of the carbon tax, with no opportunity for compensation for NSW black coal power stations, made its closure inevitable," the company said in a statement.

But Delta chief executive Greg Everett said the plant had higher fuel and operating costs before the carbon tax was announced, making the carbon price a "second order" reason for the closure.

Everett said commonwealth government compensation packages for privately-owned generators in Victoria and South Australia discriminated against publicly owned generators in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.

"It's a counter intuitive environment; there are higher emitting power stations in Victoria and South Australia," he told reporters.

Federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson hit back at the NSW government for using the carbon tax as an excuse to close a power station, which opened in October 1969.

"When are they going to stop blaming others," Ferguson told reporters in Sydney.

"Munmorah has not operated for two years. It was never going to operate again.

"It is surplus to NSW energy capacity."

Greens upper house MP John Kaye said the closure of Munmorah, the state's dirtiest power station, was a positive development, provided the NSW government didn't turn the site into another polluting coal or gas-fired power plant.

"The carbon price, if it did contribute to the demise, has done a good thing," Dr Kaye told reporters.

Federal opposition climate spokesman Greg Hunt called on his government counterpart Greg Combet to apologise to maintenance workers who may be out of a job two years early.

"The jobs impact of the carbon tax must now be taken seriously," Hunt said in a statement.

Source: AAP

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Have your say...

Ian Grady | 4/07/2012 10:18 1

If this were advertising it would be labelled misleading. One of the state's oldest and most inefficient power stations that has been on a "care and maintenance" programme for the last 2 years, and which was, short of a catastrophic event affecting the rest of the state's power stations, never going to be brought on line again can hardly be called a "casualty" if the carbon tax. It is simply management doing its job and reducing the cost of a non-viable asset which had, even before carbon pricing, become a liability.

Greg | 7/07/2012 10:45 2

Such misleading headlines are evidence of the success of the weird campaign that is undermining our move toward a new economy. This campaign of the liberals is really out of touch with the future. Some call them clever for nothing more than a fear campaign that marginalises based on lies. It will be instructive to see how Dr No the fear mongerer will blend the carbon tax into his car accident. Tell a lie exaggerate - repeat it endlessly and people begin to believe it is a truth and assume all their problems in life revolve around this misnamed carbon tax and people smugglers. The weird rabbot is creating more damage to business certainty than the any other agency in Australia. He has purposely created confusion a selfish and dangerous game holding our country back when it should be galvanised for an exciting new era of growth. We are poised for a sustainable future free of the grip of the old fossil fuel economies and accompanying expensive environmental liabilities. Let's hope the dark forces in the liberals wither away and gollum is relegated to the dark place he came from - we need inspirational leaders like Turnbull for a secure future that unites Ausralia.

dave d | 10/07/2012 22:55 3

Greg, If you dislike "liars" so much -you should love the saying "people who live in Glass houses should not throw stones" or is it just convenient to forget election promises to justify your own agenda ???? (p.s I don't like liars either !!)

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