The company was fined $170,000 in the County Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment for its employees, in breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
WorkSafe brought the charges after the Yallourn power station in the Latrobe Valley caught fire in 2021.
Yallourn provides about 22 per cent of Victoria's electricity, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, staffed by about 350 workers on weekdays and 120 on weekends.
No one was injured but the fire caused internal damage to the conveyer, surrounding chutes and roof.
Maintenance crews had left for their lunch break on November 11 when the fire broke out at the site's fuel distribution house.
One person was acting as a "fire watch" during the maintenance works, however they did not believe they needed to continue monitoring the site during breaks or at the end of the day.
The workers hosed down the area before their break and did not smell anything burning after performing a visual inspection.
However, a fire alarm in the watch room was set off about 10 minutes after they left.
The power station's suppression deluge systems were activated and firefighters were called, taking more than an hour to contain the fire.
After the fire, Energy Australia changed its "hot works" procedure by inserting a requirement that, before any meal beaks, the fire watch worker use a thermal imaging camera to assess the area for hot spots.
Fires are a "regular occurrence" at Yallourn because of the nature of the environment, the company's barrister Colin Mandy SC told a plea hearing.
He argued the incident was a low-level example of the offence and asked the court to spare the company a conviction because it had a strong safety record spanning 25 years.
However, Judge Peter Rozen disagreed and found the fire was low to mid-range in seriousness as he convicted and fined the company.
He said, while Energy Australia had a number of steps in place to address the risk of fires and minimise impact, some of those processes "can hardly be said to be particularly sophisticated".
"An employer must actively identify risks to health and safety, and take all steps that are reasonably practicable to obviate those risks," the judge said.
"Employers are not allowed under the law to take a passive approach to safety only improving safety procedures after an incident."
Judge Rozen said it must not be forgotten that, under the act, employees must not be subjected to unnecessary risks to their health while working.
"Too many employers continue to fail to heed this message and are not taking their safety responsibilities seriously enough," he said.
"Workers continue to be needlessly placed at risk."
An Energy Australia spokeswoman said it would consider the judgment.
"As always, we are committed to ensuring the continued safety of our people, contractors and the Latrobe Valley," she said.
WorkSafe has been contacted for its response.Â
Yallourn will be closed by 2028, as part of Energy Australia's commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.
17°C