BY JESSICA STEENS
Lake Macquarie Council is calling for Federal support to mitigate the economic fallout which could occur following the closure of Eraring Power Station.
In recent years, the plant has struggled to make profit due to the increasing competitiveness of renewable energy sources.
With a planned 2027 closure date creeping closer, Councillors say the Net Zero Economy Authority will need to step in.
Deputy Mayor Jack Antcliff says failure to prepare for the station's closure could result in economic death by a thousand cuts.
“Lake Macquarie is a city of 14,000 small businesses, we don’t have a single big employer. We don’t have a BHP, we don’t have a Holden. So when we lose businesses, we lose one family business at a time.
“We run the risk if we don’t prepare, in 15 years time we will look back and wonder where all the jobs went” he said.
Council warns the closure is set to cause a loss of 4.5 billion dollars to the local economy and cause 1800 job losses.
Hunter Business CEO Bob Hawes says looking back at previous mining closures, it’s hard to predict the effect on the economy.
“When you look back in history there is certainly some things we have learnt from those experiences and move forward. Sometimes things work out better than you anticipate and sometimes not so” he said.
Eraring Power Station is expected to cease its operations on August 19th, 2027.
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| Image: Wikimedia Commons / CSIRO |
