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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.
