The pending closure of Victoria's Hazelwood power station will lead to a massive economic loss for the Latrobe Valley, its council has warned as the plant's final days loom.
Latrobe City Council has called for more state and federal government funding to help the region through the closure, claiming its economy will be dented by $340 million and the loss of 1862 jobs.
In a statement, Mayor Kellie O'Callaghan called for a Brown Coal Royalties Investment Fund to be established, with a percentage of revenue to be distributed to the Latrobe Valley community.
Her comments came after eleventh-hour calls to keep Victoria's flagging Hazelwood power plant open with a government bailout, an idea dismissed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Tony Abbott, in a column in Friday's Herald Sun, said the "last thing" Australia should be doing is closing a utility that supports base load power.
But Mr Turnbull says the government won't step in, stating there is enough unused capacity in the electricity generation system to cover the looming gap.
He told 3AW on Friday the cost of making the plant safe and paying for long-deferred maintenance ran into "many millions of dollars", an opinion also held by the plant's French corporate owner.
Engie Australia CEO Alex Keisser says a bailout would be "very expensive" and suggests the focus should instead be on job opportunities for redundant staff.
"They would need, firstly, a lot of money and, secondly, we would need to act very quickly because we need $150 million just to do the work needed by July to keep the plant safe," he told ABC Radio National on Friday.
The Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox called for "urgent action" to keep the station open after it was revealed Victoria could face energy shortages in the coming two years.
Greens energy spokesman Adam Bandt said calls by Mr Abbott and the Australian Industry Group were dangerous, foolish and created "false hope" for Latrobe Valley residents.
"What the people of Latrobe Valley need now is to be supported through this transition as part of a coherent national plan, which still doesn't exist."
Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio backed the prime minister, stating Hazelwood's closure was a commercial decision, with hundreds of millions of dollars required for the plant to stay open.
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