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At around midday on Thursday 11 November, a small fire began in the coal distribution facility at Victoria’s Yallourn power station.
The situation was brought under control and the fire extinguished within 40 minutes due to the automatic fire deluge system and support provided by fire services teams and the Country Fire Authority.
Employees in the immediate area were evacuated to a safe location while the fire was being extinguished. Importantly, all our people are safe and well.
Fire detection alarms immediately alerted our on-site fire services team, Estate Services, who promptly attended the scene supported by the CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria.
The way all parties managed the situation demonstrates that our emergency services training and technical systems work as intended.
We continue to closely monitor the situation and a thorough investigation will be conducted.
Yallourn has four generating units. One unit is currently offline because of the major outage maintenance program. As a precaution, the three other units have been reduced to absolute minimum load while the conveyor system is being reinstated.
Their estimated return to service is this evening in line with the advice and the consent of WorkSafe Victoria, ensuring the equipment is safe to operate.
We thank our people for their swift action, and the continued support provided by the CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria.
There is no risk to energy security as a result of the fire.