Dithering over Hazelwood closure will lead to a messy end

Hazelwood's closure could be
 as early as next April.

The closure of Hazelwood is unfolding like Ernest Hemingway's description of going bankrupt: "gradually, then suddenly". Age, emissions and other energy options meant it was only a matter of time before Australia's oldest and dirtiest power station retired. Rumours permeated the Latrobe Valley for the last couple of years. But only now that an announcement appears imminent – and closure could be as early as next April – are governments starting to respond.

The federal government has said it's up to the power companies themselves to decide if and when to close coal stations. But leaving it up to the market means giving up control of critical infrastructure and the future of regional communities to a few big power companies.

We saw what happened when Alinta shut down South Australia's Northern coal station with just eight months' notice: 400 jobs gone, massive dislocation for the people of Port Augusta, and sudden pressures on the state's electricity system which the energy market operator is still figuring out how to address. The causes of South Australia's recent price spikes are many, but earlier attention to smoothing the impacts of coal exit could certainly have helped.

Now we are about to repeat the same experience in Victoria, on a larger scale. This is a messy way to undertake what Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg calls the transition to a lower emissions future.

Read Olivia Kember’s comment in today’s Melbourne Age - “Dithering over Hazelwood closure will lead to a messy end.”