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A major outage of unit one at Yallourn Power Station is underway, with the work set to reduce carbon emissions from the plant and contribute millions of dollars to the local economy.
More than 600 EnergyAustralia employees and contractors are contributing to the planned 60-day outage that began last month.
The unit one outage will take about 180,000 man hours to complete, with Yallourn Power Station’s work force to increase up to five times its normal size.
The outage is expected to contribute more than $20 million to the Latrobe Valley economy through wages, services and the manufacture and delivery of materials and equipment.
Group Executive Manager - Operations and Construction, Michael Hutchinson, said the significant outage allowed the team to inspect, repair or replace equipment, which was essential to running an efficient power station.
“These outages are like a health check for the power station’s units,” Mr Hutchinson said.
“As one of the state’s largest power generator, the plant needs to be maintained so it can continue delivering reliable electricity to Victorians.
“These units run around the clock so this outage allows us to undertake major maintenance and repair works that may need to be done.”
The outage will allow workers to install a new High and Intermediate Pressure (HIP) turbine, increasing the unit’s efficiency by three per cent with lower carbon emissions intensity.
HIP turbines have previously been installed on units three and four which saw efficiency improve by four per cent without increasing emissions.
“We are committed to reducing our emissions at Yallourn and replacing our older turbines with this new model is about making sure our plant is more efficient to run,” Mr Hutchinson said.
The outage is expected to finish in late June.