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A potential fire and explosion at a Callide coal-fired power plant has reported power outages in at least 400,000 homes across Queensland, Australia, and power outages from New South Wales to Cairns.
Queensland’s state-owned CS Energy confirmed the incident and wrote on Twitter that the fire had taken the three units that were out there at the time offline. “We immediately evacuated from the power plant and called emergency services to witness the scene. No injuries were reported at this stage.”
CS Energy acted today shortly after the incident at the Callide power plant near Biloela in central Queensland. A fire broke out in one of the turbine halls of the power plant at about 1:45 pm today.
— CS Energy (@CSEnergyQld) May 25, 2021
A fire broke out in the turbine hall at around 1:45 pm, cutting off the supply of multiple power lines.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said the turbine was burning at the station. Staff have been evacuated safely and no injuries have been reported at the power plant.
A caller living near the power plant told ABC that the explosion had “removed” the roof of the station. The cause of the explosion is unknown.
The fire brigade has not yet invaded the evacuated factory and remains at the edge of the 550-meter exclusion zone around the factory. There are no reports of injuries.
The exact number of affected customers is not yet clear, but during the unfolding of the incident, utilities Ergon and Energex were hit by at least 375,000 between the Gold Coast and Caboolture, and many more. He said he was influenced in the countryside.
At least 300,000 households are already restoring electricity, thanks to power plants across Australia that make up for the shortfall.
“I’m in touch with my federal colleagues and they say South Australia’s gas-fired power plant is up and running while we’re talking to make up for the energy shortage,” MP Colin Boyce said. Said.
Approximately 29,600 customers in New South Wales were also affected.
Power outages have affected homes, hotels, traffic lights, and many sewage pumping stations that require the deployment of multiple generators.
Bruce Mountain, an energy economist and associate professor, told ABC Radio Brisbane that the Callide power plant could produce about a quarter of Queensland’s electricity demand annually, losing about 2,000 MW (megawatts) of electricity in a short period of time. He said he was.
Energy supply fell from about 6,800 MW to 4,800 MW, after which energy prices surged from about $ 60 to $ 2,573 per MWh.
The Stanwell power plant said in a statement that the event also tripped three generators, reducing their capacity from 365 MW to 16 MW.
In the power grid, the power plants are interconnected, interdependent, operate at the same frequency, and the Australian power grid is set to 50Hz.
This avoids further damage in the event of a power plant failure that causes the grid frequency to deviate significantly from 50 Hz, causing other power plants to automatically trip and return the grid to its operating frequency of 50 Hz. Means.
Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said electricity is slowly recovering and such an event is planned.
“There is a process to gradually and safely increase the supply from other power plants,” Debrenni said.
“These scenarios are planned and the recovery plan is already in place.”
The international terminal at Brisbane Airport was also affected, but only for 15 minutes. The generator was started to keep the air traffic controller online. There was no impact on the domestic terminal.
QFES warns, “This incident is expected to be a long-term event.”
This story is developing.
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