Forensic engineer Dr Sean Brady has been engaged to lead an external, independent investigation and review of the incident on Unit C4 at CS Energy’s Callide Power Station last month.
CEO Andrew Bills said Dr Brady would investigate the cause of the Callide incident, with support from individual experts.
“CS Energy is committed to understanding the facts that led to the C4 event so we can learn from it and improve the safety of our people and plant,” Mr Bills said.
“The scope of the investigation will be broad in nature and will assess both technical and organisational factors that could have contributed to the C4 incident.
“It will be a highly complex investigation and Dr Brady has been given the authority to expand its scope based on progressive findings. As a result, the timeframes for finalising the investigation cannot be confirmed at this stage and will instead be provided as the investigation progresses and more information becomes available.”
Mr Bills said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the incident until the investigation is complete.
“A report will be published with findings from the investigation so that the lessons learned can be shared with our peers in the power generation industry,” he said.
Dr Brady is based in Queensland and recently completed the Brady Review, which was an investigation into the causes of fatalities in the state’s mining and quarrying industry.
Alongside this independent investigation, there are other stakeholders investigating what has occurred at Callide, including Workplace Health & Safety Queensland and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
Mr Bills, who has been visiting Callide Power Station each week, said staffing had returned to normal levels on site.
“The Callide team is doing an extraordinary job. Our crews continue to work on safely bringing the other three generating units back online,” he said.
“I have also met with the local Chamber of Commerce, Banana Shire Council, local State and Federal members of Parliament, and union officials to give them updates on how CS Energy is managing our response to the C4 event.”
Unit B1 is scheduled to return to service on 16 June and Unit B2 on 20 June (UPDATED AS OF 15 JUNE).
CS Energy owns Callide C in a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with InterGen. Callide Power Trading, which trades the output of Callide C on behalf of the JV, has informed AEMO that Unit C3 will return to service on 2 July.