Workers are seeking a clear explanation of what caused an explosion at Callide Power Station’s C4 unit before they bring the affected unit back online in June, the Mining and Energy Union said.
Queensland District President, Mitch Hughes said it was a miracle no one was killed or seriously injured in the 2021 explosion.
Forensic engineer, Sean Brady was commissioned to write the report in June 2021 and the MEU said the report was long overdue and should be completed and released.
“Workers are simply asking that the forensic report that they were promised by CS Energy and the Government be completed in order to provide an explanation about what occurred before restarting the unit,” said Mr Hughes.
“Workers aren’t impressed by the excuses and technicalities surrounding the release of the report, they just want transparency about what it has found about the cause of the explosion.
“It’s been nearly three years since the explosion, and frankly the company needs to finalise the report and release it if they want to build trust with the workforce and share what was found.”
Mr Hughes said that while workers awaited the completion of the long-awaited report, they remained concerned about ongoing maintenance of the Power Station.
“With the Queensland Government planning to phase out state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2035, this must not be seen as an invitation to neglect them and run them into the ground.
“Some workers don’t feel confident that the company is taking the proper precautions to ensure they can safely operate all areas of Callide Power Station.
“At Callide we have seen successive failures since the 2021 explosion, including the collapse of the C3 cooling tower in 2022 which took the station offline for hours.
“Our members are simply asking to understand what caused the explosion in 2021, so they can be assured that the C4 unit can be brought back online safely.”
