Stanwell Corporation Limited (Stanwell) has paid penalties totalling $263,400 following the issuing of six infringement notices by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).
The AER issued the infringement notices as it had reasonable grounds to believe Stanwell breached:
- clause 4.4.3 of the National Electricity Rules (NER) for applying settings to the protective systems at Stanwell Generating Units 1, 3 and 4 at Stanwell Power Station on or about 27 June 2017 which had not been approved by the Australian Energy Market Operator as required by clause S5.2.2 of the NER; and
- rule 4.15(a)(1) of the NER for failing to ensure, including during the period 29 January 2021 up to and including 25 May 2021, that Stanwell Generating Units 1, 3 and 4 at Stanwell Power Station met the requirements of clause S5.2.5.8 of their applicable generator performance standard (GPS) to maintain continuous uninterrupted operation in accordance with GPS clause S5.2.5.4.
The alleged breaches were identified by the AER as part of its investigation into a power system incident which occurred in May 2021. The incident involved an explosion at Callide Power Station and the interruption of multiple generators (including Stanwell Power Station) and high voltage transmission lines in Queensland.