Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

On Tuesday this week, just before 2 pm, there was an explosion at the Callide Power Station in Biloela in my electorate of Flynn. Catastrophic damage was done to the C4 generator and it was taken offline. Generator B1 was already offline, due to maintenance, and generators B2 and C1, C2 and C3 were shut down as a precaution, rendering the whole plant inactive. Thankfully, all the 236 personnel on site were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported.

Sixteen per cent of Queensland's power comes from the Callide Power Station. The result was that thousands of homes and businesses were without power for a few hours. Power stations around the country, including the Gladstone Power Station, ramped up their production to help cover for the loss of power in the grid. All turbines are likely to stay offline until late next week, as the company continues to investigate the issues. CS Energy CEO Andrew Bills has kept me informed all the way along the line. He said the company was aiming to have the first of the three remaining units working on Friday of next week.

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