THE Wallerawang power station is to be permanently closed and decommissioned, providing another blow to the Lithgow community.
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EnergyAustralia made the formal announcement on Wallerawang today following months of anticipation.
It comes just weeks after Centennial Coal announced it would be mothballing its Angus Place Colliery, at the coast of around 160 jobs.
NSW general manager Luke Welfare said the decommissioning of the Wallerawang site would start once detailed plans were approved by the NSW Government and was expected to take several years.
"Consultation with key community stakeholders, including staff and their representatives, will be an important step to ensure decommissioning and rehabilitation of the site is done safely and efficiently," Mr Welfare said.
Units seven and eight at the Wallerawang power station were built in the late 1970s and have not been operational for the past eight months.
In January, EnergyAustralia announced it was removing one of Wallerawang’s 500MW units from service and suspending generation from the other unit following continued subdued demand for energy and a lack of access to competitively-priced coal.
In April, EnergyAustralia announced a voluntary redundancy program. A total of 76 employees have since chosen to leave the business.
Employees will continue to operate the newer, more efficient 1400MW Mount Piper power station, as well as assisting with the task of decommissioning Wallerawang’s plant for recycling and sale.
Mr Welfare said that while today's announcement was anticipated by both employees and the community, it had still been an extremely difficult decision to make.
"We are aware people locally view Wallerawang not just as a feature of the industrial landscape, but as a part of local history," Mr Welfare said.
"Employment guarantees for employees on site remain in place and we will continue to focus on ensuring both sites are maintained safely."
Mr Welfare said Mount Piper power station would continue to operate although longer-term coal supplies were still not guaranteed as they remain subject to planning approval.
This follows the NSW Planning Assessment Commission's decision last month to not approve reopening of a local coal mine contracted to supply Mount Piper with fuel.
"Mount Piper remains an important part of the NSW energy supply system and we are currently working to secure other commercially viable sources of coal to underpin its longer-term operations," Mr Welfare said.