NSW coal-fired power stations suffered 57 breakdowns in the past year, according to a new report from the Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC). The Reliability Watch report shows that across the National Electricity Market, coal plants experienced 142 outages during the 2025 winter period alone, including 119 unexpected breakdowns.
From April to September, an average of 22 per cent of NSW coal capacity was offline at any given time. In the Hunter region, AGL’s Bayswater, Origin’s Eraring and Delta’s Vales Point power stations were out of service around 20 per cent of the time, while EnergyAustralia’s Mount Piper near Lithgow was offline 30 per cent of the time.
Policy Director Dr Brad Smith said most outages were unplanned, making coal plants unreliable when demand peaks. “Extending coal power stations not only drives up climate pollution, it also creates uncertainty for clean energy investors,” Dr Smith said.
The NCC is calling on the Minns government to ensure at least two units at Eraring close in 2027 and to increase the state’s renewable energy target from 12 GW to 16 GW by 2030. It also wants energy efficiency standards for rental properties and better access to solar and battery programs for households and businesses.
The report comes as the NSW Government confirmed discussions with Origin Energy about extending Eraring beyond its planned 2027 closure date.
