A draft report on the 2021 Callide C power station explosion has revealed significant safety lapses by CS Energy. 

Forensic engineer Dr Sean Brady of Brady Heywood reportedly found that CS Energy failed to implement effective safety practices, leading to a catastrophic explosion and widespread power outages affecting nearly half a million Queenslanders.

The explosion at the Callide C power station's C4 unit was due to a battery back-up system failure. 

The report allegedly criticises CS Energy for not having robust safety measures to mitigate risks associated with replacing the Unit C4 battery charger. 

The report highlighted several issues, according to the ABC,  including an under-resourced safety program neglected between April 2019 and July 2020. 

These failures were not isolated but reflected broader organisational issues. 

The report identified "competing tensions between cost reduction and process safety" as a significant problem. 

As a government-owned corporation, CS Energy faced regulatory pressures, joint venture ownership complexities, and the impacts of climate change, influencing investment and cost-cutting decisions. 

However, the report noted, “The metrics focused on by the CS Energy board did not include a focus on the management of process safety.”

From 2017 to 2021, the Callide C power station saw high turnover in key roles, likely impeding consistent safety focus.

The Callide C power station, jointly owned by Callide Energy Pty Ltd and Genuity Group, faced management complexities due to its shared ownership. 

“Shareholder mandates have pushed to extract more from ageing assets, and multiple cost-cutting initiatives have been undertaken,” the report says, according to reports.

Premier Steven Miles has announced steps to achieve 100 per cent ownership of the Callide generators to streamline management. 

“One of the causes Brady points to in his report is confusion over management structures because of that complicated joint venture arrangement, so 100 per cent public ownership is what we think will assist there,” he said. 

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni has revealed he had been misinformed by CS Energy’s former CEO and chair about maintenance work at the power station.

“They guaranteed that all of the statutory and other maintenance required had been done and what we have seen from the Brady report is that the advice the CEO and the chair gave me was incorrect,” he said at a recent press conference.

The Queensland government plans to appoint special advisors to the CS Energy board and mandate detailed management plans for all government-owned corporation assets. 

They also plan to review publicly owned generation businesses to prevent future incidents.