Seasonal Electricity Demand in Australia Brings Back Yallourn's Fourth Unit

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Energy Australia (Melbourne, Australia), formerly known as TRUenergy Pty Limited, has brought the fourth generating unit back online at its Yallourn Power Station in Victoria, which was shut down for more than six months starting in June 2012.

Energy Australia had to constantly shutter the unit after it was affected by floods in June of last year. In October, the company announced plans to operate only three of its four units due to high costs and weak electricity demand. However, the recent increase in demand, due to higher temperatures in Victoria and South Australia, required the company to resume operations on the 370-megawatt (MW) unit, which increased the capacity of the power plant to its full output of 1,480 MW.

At the same time, Delta Electricity (New South Wales, Australia) has announced plans to shut down one of the two 500-MW units at the Wallerawang Power Plant in New South Wales for at least 12 months, due to a forecasted drop in electricity demand and consumption. The shutdown of this unit will reduce the power supply by half, as it currently produces 1,000 MW. The scope and outage schedule for the planned five-week maintenance on this unit will now undergo revisions.

"The unit can be brought back into service with a few days' notice," a company spokesperson said.

Early in July 2012, Delta Electricity announced the closure of a 700-MW Munmorah Power Station, which has been maintained on standby since August 2010. High maintenance costs and an increase in the carbon tax eroded the economic viability of the power plant to operate in the New South Wales market, which was taken over by newer, more efficient generators.

Delta Electricity currently operates four natural gas power stations in New South Wales, with a combined capacity of 4,307 MW.

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