CS Energy’s Kogan Creek Power Station kept generating electricity even as flooding in the Chinchilla region cut road access to the power station for several days last week.
Two helicopters were used to transport essential staff between Chinchilla and the power station to ensure it continued to operate when road access was cut on 13 February.
Kogan Creek Acting General Manager Jacques Dippenaar said road access reopened on 16 February and the site workforce is now back to full strength.
“The safety of our people is our first priority,” Mr Dippenaar said. “We had been watching the weather closely so once we knew road access would be cut, we made the call for the majority of our people to work from centres in Chinchilla and Dalby.
“A small number of essential operations, mines, security and emergency response staff remained on site and we used helicopters for shift changeovers for several days.
“Everyone went above and beyond – from the workers at site to their colleagues supporting them remotely from Dalby and Chinchilla.”
Above: Kogan Creek Trade Maintainer Carl Rankin aboard one of the helicopters used during the floods.
Above: Floodwaters block one of the main access roads to Kogan Creek Power Station.
Mr Dippenaar said CS Energy undertook summer preparedness activities at its power stations each year to ensure it was ready for extreme weather events such as high rainfall and floods.
“Each year we undertake a summer readiness plan to ensure the power station and Kogan Creek Mine can respond to periods of severe weather events. This includes priority plant maintenance, putting appropriate fuel stockpiles in place and ensuring rosters and facilities are ready for critical staff to manage operations in the event access to the site is lost."