Introduction: Industrial Action Looms

Workers at Queensland’s Kogan Creek power station are set to take strike action, potentially impacting the state’s energy supply as summer approaches. The dispute centers around stalled enterprise bargaining negotiations with CS Energy, the government-owned corporation managing the power station.

Reasons for Industrial Action

This week, workers at Kogan Creek, located near Chinchilla about 290 kilometers west of Brisbane, voted to strike due to unresolved issues in their negotiations. The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) has reported that talks with CS Energy have stalled since March, with no progress made.

Details of the Strike

Starting Thursday, the industrial action will involve limiting the number of conveyor belts transporting coal from the Kogan Creek coal mine to the power station. Shane Brunker, MEU district vice president, warned that this action could significantly impact the power network and potentially lead to blackouts, particularly as the state heads into summer.

“The power station will slowly just grind down,” Brunker said. “Being the largest single unit in Queensland, it will severely affect the energy security for the state.”

Impact on Power Supply

The Kogan Creek power station, commissioned in 2007, employs 120 workers at the site and another 80 at the coal mine. It is responsible for generating approximately 10 percent of Queensland’s power, with some of it supplied to northern New South Wales. The strike could therefore have wide-reaching effects on the region’s energy supply.

Union’s Demands

The MEU is pushing for several changes in the new enterprise agreement, including:

• Payout of Personal Leave: Ensuring fair compensation for unused personal leave.
• Redundancy Payments: Removing caps on redundancy payments.
• Contractor Transparency: Improving transparency regarding the use of contractors.
• Energy Workers’ Charter: Incorporating the terms of an energy workers’ charter into the agreement.

Company’s Response

CS Energy has stated that it has been negotiating in good faith and has made a “generous offer” to employees. The company assured that it has plans in place to maintain power generation and minimize the impact of the strike.

Potential Challenges for Summer

Tony Wood, director of the Grattan Institute’s energy program, noted that the dispute could complicate matters for energy authorities, especially with forecasts predicting a hotter and drier summer. He pointed out that Queensland’s power generation is already under strain, with sections of the Callide power station still being repaired after a fire in 2021.

“It means that capacity is not online and not likely to be over most of the summer,” Wood said. “The extent to which the grid is designed to handle unexpected events is less than it was.”

Wood also mentioned concerns about older, less reliable coal-fired power stations, which could exacerbate the situation.

State Energy Minister’s View

State Energy Minister Mark de Brenni has previously indicated that power supply is expected to exceed forecast demand for the upcoming summer. However, with the current industrial action and ongoing repairs to key power infrastructure, the situation remains fluid and requires careful monitoring.

Kogan Creek

As Kogan Creek power station workers prepare for industrial action, the potential impacts on Queensland’s energy supply and the challenges posed by a hot summer highlight the importance of resolving these disputes swiftly.

Source

Edited by Australia Today