Meanwhile,technical issues have also taken two units at Yallourn Power Station offline,an EnergyAustralia spokesperson said,adding those units were expected to return to service in the coming week.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said it did not have concerns for the overall network given the issues had occurred in cooler months when demand on the electricity network was lower. “We remain in contact with the station owner and currently forecast sufficient supply to meet demand,” an AEMO spokesperson said of Loy Yang A.
AGL said it was assessing what the length of any maintenance outage would be,and what efforts the company could take to mitigate the impact. “AGL will inform the market of any financial impact of the technical fault and timing of the outage once these assessments have occurred,” the company said in a statement.
The faults come as wholesale and future electricity prices in Victoria are increasing because of the rising cost of coal and gas,with AGL’s share price dropping by more than 3 per cent on Wednesday.
Technical issues took the same unit,one of four at the Latrobe Valley power station,offline for seven months in 2019.
An AGL spokesperson said the unit was completely overhauled in 2019 and the latest fault was not a result of underinvestment in the infrastructure.
“AGL has consistently invested in sustaining CAPEX for its thermal generators,investing between $350m and $400m annually for the last three financial years,” they said.