<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Energy </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australia"><span>Australia</span></a><span> should not be convicted over a fire at its Yallourn power station because it has a strong safety record spanning more than two decades, company lawyers say.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>WorkSafe charged Energy Australia with failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment for its employees after the 2021 blaze in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="" title="Victoria's"><span>Victoria's</span></a><span> east.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maintenance work crews had left for their lunch break on November 11 when the fire broke out at the site's fuel distribution house.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-weather-forecast-autumn-2025/594fdec6-c06f-4444-a0a0-a94bc2503c66" target="_blank"><strong><span>Hotter than normal with a chance of bushfires: The weather you can expect in autumn</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No one was injured but the blaze caused internal damage to the site's conveyor, the surrounding chutes and roof.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While there was a person acting as a "fire watch" during the maintenance works, that person did not have to continue monitoring the site during breaks or at the end of the day.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The workers had followed company procedures by hosing down the area before their break but the fire alarm was set off about 10 minutes after they left.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/energy-australia-pushes-for-no-conviction-over-yallourn-power-station-fire/673d378e-a864-47ee-99e0-cad883bf6cd8" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Suppression deluge systems were activated and firefighters were called, with crews taking more than an hour to contain the fire.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>WorkSafe found Energy Australia's procedures should have required the fire watch person to hose down the area and scan it with a thermal imaging camera before leaving.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/what-we-know-about-the-us-college-student-missing-in-dominican-republic/00e5a6f5-4219-4bd3-abc1-b0d1efc48df1" target="_blank"><strong><span>US student vanishes off beach in Dominican Republic while on spring break</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Energy Australia accepted it had breached the Occupational Health and Safety Act and on Wednesday pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Company barrister Colin Mandy SC said the Yallourn site had comprehensive fire safety systems at the time of the blaze so the offending should be considered at the lower end.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Energy Australia had also not faced any fire-related offences in the 25 years before this incident nor in the years after, Mandy said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is a company that really does everything it can to operate safely," he told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a big company with a complicated, dangerous workplace and it's doing its level best to maintain levels of safety."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mandy said it was open to Judge Peter Rozen to fine the company without conviction given its early guilty plea, prior good history and compliance in recent years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But prosecutor Peter Matthews SC argued the offending was serious and a conviction with a significant fine was open to the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The penalty for a company of this size needs to be more than small change," Mr Matthews said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Judge Rozen will hand down his sentence later in March.</span></div></div>