EnergyAustralia has been convicted and fined for placing workers at risk when a fire broke out at Yallourn Power Station in 2021.
No one was injured in the blaze, however, WorkSafe took the company to court on charges of breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
EnergyAustralia was fined $170,000 after it pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment for its employees.
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Yallourn Power Station provides approximately 22% of Victoria’s electricity is staffed by about 350 workers on weekdays and 120 on weekends.
Maintenance crews had left for their lunch break on November 11 when the fire broke out at the site’s fuel distribution house. One person was acting as a “fire watch” during the maintenance works, however, they did not believe they needed to continue monitoring the site during breaks or at the end of the day.
The workers hosed down the area before their break and did not smell anything burning after performing a visual inspection.
A fire alarm in the watch room was set off about 10 minutes after they left.
The power station’s suppression deluge systems were activated and firefighters were called, taking more than an hour to contain the fire.
After the fire, EnergyAustralia changed its “hot works” procedure by inserting a requirement that, before any meal beaks, the fire watch worker use a thermal imaging camera to assess the area for hot spots.
Fires were a “regular occurrence” at Yallourn because of the nature of the environment, the company’s barrister Colin Mandy SC told a plea hearing in the County Court.
He argued the incident was a low-level example of the offence and asked the court to spare the company a conviction because it had a strong safety record spanning 25 years.
However, Judge Peter Rozen disagreed and found the fire was low to mid-range in seriousness as he convicted and fined the company.
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“An employer must actively identify risks to health and safety, and take all steps that are reasonably practicable to obviate those risks,” His Honour said.
“Employers are not allowed under the law to take a passive approach to safety only improving safety procedures after an incident.”
Yallourn will close in 2028 as part of EnergyAustralia’s decarbonisation strategy.
