Malcolm Turnbull puts AGL board on notice in power crisis

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is targeting the board of energy giant AGL in his push to keep the Liddell coal-fired power station open, warning the company has a duty to consider a sale and prevent a looming east coast power shortage.

Malcolm Turnbull has stepped up the pressure AGL and its
 boss Andy Vesey to keep the ageing Liddell power station open

But the Prime Minister has signalled a compromise with the directors and their combative chief executive, Andy Vesey, telling Fairfax Media the company could avoid selling the plant to a competitors as long as it kept Liddell running “for a few more years”.

Read David Crowe’s story from The Age - “Malcolm Turnbull puts AGL board on notice in power crisis.”

Stand-off between Turnbull government and AGL deepens over conflicting statements.

The tense stand-off between the Turnbull government and energy giant AGL has deepened after different accounts emerged of what happened in a meeting about the future of the Liddell coal-fired power plant.

AGL's Andy Vesey said on Monday after meeting
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that he would put
the idea of extending Liddell to his board even
though it was "economically irrational". 

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the government had secured a commitment from AGL to develop within 90 days a proposal to keep the NSW plant open, sell it, or guarantee equivalent power should the scheduled 2022 closure proceed. The government wants to plant to remain operating to meet a looming shortfall in baseload power.

However, a statement released by AGL following Monday's meeting noted it had committed to deliver a plan to avoid an energy shortfall "once the Liddell coal-fired power station retires in 2022”.

While Mr Vesey said he agreed to the government's request to examine keeping the plant running or selling it, the statement emphasised the ageing facility's growing reliability problems.

Read the story by Fergus Hunter in today’s Melbourne Age - “Stand-off between Turnbull government and AGL deepens over conflicting statements.”