3 July 2014
Electricity providers return to coal as gas prices soar
The rising international price of natural gas is causing electricity providers to return to coal-fired power, with Queensland among the first to make the move.
Power companies are taking advantage of the export gas price, making more money by selling their gas rather than burning it.
Stanwell, one of Queensland's government-owned electricity companies, will bring a coal-fired generator at its Tarong power station back into service this month, after taking it offline in 2012.
It will bring another back online next year, returning the Tarong complex, near Nanango, to its former position as the state's largest power station.
"It's the first time anyone's ever returned a unit like ours from cold storage," site manager Dennis Franklin said.
"It's the first time we've ever done a weld repair on a turbine the way we have and it really is a first for this site with anything of this ilk.
"I'd like to think it's the last time we do it, but as you know, we're in a very interesting market with the way we're influenced by the overseas demand for gas."
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