On 4 February 2025, Callide Power Trading Pty Ltd (Callide Power Trading) was ordered by the Federal Court to pay a penalty of $9 million for breaches of the National Electricity Rules (NER).
In proceedings brought by the Australian Energy Regulator, Callide Power Trading admitted that on 25 May 2021 it failed to ensure the Callide C4 generating unit met or exceeded its performance standards in breach of rule 4.15(a)(1) of the NER. It also admitted that it failed to plan and design its facilities and ensure they were operated to comply with its performance standards, in breach of clause 5.2.5(a)(1) of the NER.
With a maximum penalty of $10 million, the $9 million penalty is the highest ever imposed to date for a failure to comply with performance standards under the NER.
The catastrophic failure and destruction of Callide C4 had widespread impacts. The disconnection caused widespread disruption to energy supply and required AEMO to activate emergency reliability measures.
The plant damage resulted in Callide C4 being out of service for nearly two years. It remained offline until 30 August 2024 due to unrelated incidents.