AGL Energy warned its profit for the year ending June 30 will drop more than expected because of a unit breakdown at the Loy Yang A power station in Victoria, cutting its underlying net earnings guidance by about 18 per cent., will wipe about $73 million from pre-tax profit assuming it comes back online by August 1, of which about $60 million will fall in this year’s results, AGL said on Monday. The reduction is bigger than some analysts had anticipated.
Underlying profit after tax will fall to between $220 million and $270 million, rather than the previously anticipated $260 million-$340 million, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange. An electrical fault hit Unit 2 of the 2210-megawatt Loy Yang A plant, which provides about 30 per cent of Victoria’s power, on April 15, when AGL advised it could take until August 1 to get it back online. The outage means the unit will be out of action until late in the peak winter demand season and has contributed to a surge in wholesale electricity prices in recent weeks, beyond increases
. They risk further undermining investor confidence in the prospects for the Accel business, which will house the large coal-fired generators.
More price rises from broken down dirty old coal plants, during an election when cost of living increases are a key issue. Where are the plans to replace this generation with clean renewables ( with reliable prices!)