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At a press conference on Wednesday, Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said keeping Liddell Power Station open beyond AGL’s planned end date of 2022 was “clearly an option” to prevent energy shortfalls. 

Lithgow Council’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor, who have come out in support of Turnbull’s comments on the Liddell Power Station, hope to bring Mt Piper into the federal government’s discussion of energy security. 

“Mt Piper was always meant to be a four unit power station and was initially constructed that way and with that in mind EnergyAustralia is technically well placed to respond to government incentives to increase power generation in NSW, should that be in the company’s interest,” said Mr McAndrew.  

“Both the Deputy Mayor and I call on State and Federal representatives for the Lithgow and Bathurst area, Paul Toole and Andrew Gee to provide strong public and political support for the Mt Piper capability,” Mayor Lesslie said.

Council made similar calls for the station’s expansion in March of this year. 

A spokersperson for EnergyAustralia said the company still stands by its 2007 climate change strategy, which committed to not building any traditional-technology coal-fired power stations. He said that included adding units to Mt Piper. 

“We are committed to securing affordable and reliable energy for our customers, and we believe lower emissions sources are the best options to explore as the new sources of energy for our customers,” the spokesperson said. 

“Lower emissions means efficiency improvements at our existing assets, like Mt Piper, and then sourcing a range of other technologies that together offer attractive pathways for the future – things like renewables, gas, demand response and batteries.” 

The spokesperson said Mt Piper Power Station was vulnerable to closure due to the legal challenges facing Springvale Mine. 

“Our focus today at Mt Piper remains on securing coal supply from the Springvale mine, the sole source of coal for the plant,” he said. 

Springvale Mine’s approval to extend operations until 2028 was ruled invalid in the Supreme Court in August. Orders from the court have not yet been handed down. 

“Despite having approval in place for a $100 million water treatment plant, which supports the continued operation of the Springvale mine, further legal challenges have created great uncertainty around the project and the long-term future of the mine.”

The spokesperson said, however, that EnergyAustralia has been clear about their intention to keep Mt Piper running well into the future. 

“Mt Piper, which is one of the newest and most efficient assets of its kind in New South Wales, has an operational life until 2042.

“We believe the water treatment plant we are developing with Centennial addresses all the issues raised in the legal challenge and would like to see the project continue on its current time frame.”

AGL chief executive Andy Vesey has opposed the prime minister’s comments on Liddell Power Station, saying AGL was “getting out of coal” and had made no commitment to sell the power station nor to extend its life beyond 2022.