May 5, 2022 — 11.02am
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Australian energy giant AGL has told investors it will consider earlier closures of its coal-fired power plants if it is confident the grid can handle their withdrawal, as it seeks to fend off billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes’ campaign to scuttle its proposed demerger.
Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of software giant Atlassian and one of Australia’s richest people, earlier this week amassed an 11.3 per cent interest in AGL to become its biggest shareholder, declaring he wants to block AGL’s plans to split off its power stations into a new entity that would continue burning coal for more than 20 years.
AGL in March brought forward the closure of its Bayswater coal plant in NSW from 2035 to 2033, while Loy Yang A in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley would have its 2048 closure date brought forward to 2045. However, the announcement disappointed climate campaigners including Cannon-Brookes, who have been urging the company to align its closure dates with the United Nations’ calls for developed countries to quit coal-fired electricity by 2030 to avert catastrophic levels of climate change.
AGL chief executive Graeme Hunt on Thursday accused Cannon-Brookes of making false “claims” about AGL’s proposed demerged power station offshoot, to be known as Accel Energy, and stressed the company was open to faster coal closure dates if market conditions allowed.
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