WA Government Pushes for Landmark Collie Coal Merger to Safeguard Power Grid Ahead of 2030 Shutdown

In a major bid to secure Western Australia’s energy security ahead of the 2030 coal phase-out, the state government is urging the state's last remaining privately owned coal mines to consolidate their operations. The proposed merger would combine Chinese-owned Premier Coal and Indian-owned Griffin Coal into a single commercial entity tasked with supplying the private Bluewaters power station.

While the final decision ultimately rests with the mining companies, Premier Roger Cook expressed strong confidence that a deal would be reached to streamline the local industry. "I'm not in the rooms for those conversations taking place, but I think it's self-evident that we will see a consolidation," Premier Cook stated, pointing to the economic realities facing the sector.

The Road to Consolidation

The push for a merger follows the state government’s 2022 pledge to retire all state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030. The transition has already begun to impact the local workforce; in April, Premier Coal announced the loss of up to 100 jobs at its Collie site, attributing the cuts to declining demand for coal-fired energy.

Meanwhile, Griffin Coal has required extensive government intervention to stay afloat. Since entering receivership in 2022, the company has received approximately $240 million in state taxpayer subsidies to prevent a collapse that could trigger widespread blackouts across Perth and the South-West. Premier Cook warned that this financial lifeline is drawing to a close. "I don't know where they'll get coal from because we won't be subsidising the coal mines as we do at the moment," he said.

In response to the looming transition, local Labor MP Jodie Hanns has called on the federal government to step up and support the affected workforce. "The federal government stepped in and supported a number of other projects around the country, including Whyalla," Hanns said. "It is now time for our transitioning workers to be supported by the federal government."

Taskforce Recommends Merger

The recommendation to merge the state’s remaining coal assets came from the Collie Basin Consolidation Taskforce. Established in January, the group—which includes mine operators, unions, major customers, and government officials—concluded that a merger represents the most viable path forward.

Premier Cook noted that a unified entity would provide much-needed structural benefits. "It gives you economies of scale... it allows you to blend your workforce so you can have your older workers start to retire from the industry and continue to consolidate the other skilled workers that you have," he explained.

However, the opposition has raised concerns over the lack of financial transparency in the plan. Shadow Energy Minister Steve Thomas argued the taskforce's findings offer little progress. "We have been talking about the advantages of fully integrating the coal companies at Collie for more than 15 years, and this report gets us no further," Thomas said. "It will probably cost the state government hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars to get [the miners] out."

A Transitioning Collie Faces Uncertainty

The state government has already committed $700 million to assist the historic town of Collie as it transitions away from its century-long reliance on coal. Today, an additional $58 million was announced to fund road infrastructure, land rehabilitation, and targeted voluntary redundancy packages.

While several major green energy and manufacturing projects are slated for the region—including a green steel plant, a downstream graphite processing facility, and a magnesium refinery—local leaders worry about the timeline. Collie Shire President Ian Miffling warned that these new industries may not be ready to absorb workers immediately. "The potential new industries are in their infancy, and they've got to work through all of their financing," Miffling said. "But there could be a gap there."