Masks for Workers at Asbestos Power Plant

ABOUT 15 workers will be wearing head-to-toe overalls, breathing masks and gloves to restart and run the New Plymouth power station, shut down last year because of asbestos.

The 100-megawatt plant was shut in December because of safety concerns, but Contact Energy has decided to bring it back into action to help in the national power shortage.

The plant should be running again early next month to help meet peak demand over winter.

“The safety of our people is Contact’s absolute priority,” chief executive David Baldwin said.

People running the plant will have to wear the same gear as those stripping the plant of asbestos. There are also full “wash- down decontamination” processes. Contact said the Labour Department had approved the measures

Independent energy experts say there is now a one-in-five chance of power blackouts because of the lowest hydro lake storage levels since the 1992 power crisis.

Meanwhile, Energy Minister David Parker has told Radio New Zealand that power blackouts are unlikely this winter.

POWER CRISIS C1

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