Face of Nation : The federal and NSW governments have formed a task force in a bid to ensure the closure of AGL’s ageing Liddell power station in 2023 does not affect the electricity supply or cause price spikes.
The Liddell Taskforce will look for options to replace the coal-fired station, which has provided power to NSW for 40 years. AGL announced on August 2 it will postpone the full closure of Liddell by a year until 2023 to support “system reliability” throughout the summer months.
Federal Energy Minster Angus Taylor says the government wants to avoid a repeat of the disastrous outcome from the premature closure of Victoria’s Hazelwood station, which affected supplies in the energy grid and caused a a significant increase in power prices. “One of the Morrison government’s top energy priorities is to avoid premature closure of our coal and gas fired power stations, and to keep them in the market running flat out,” Mr Taylor said on Thursday.
“I look forward to working with Minister (Matt) Kean and the NSW government, AGL and the wider private sector to ensure the disastrous Hazelwood closure is not repeated.” The task force will deliver a report and recommendations late in the year after consulting with stakeholders in the industry and government departments.
