New Delhi: Australian energy retailer AGL Energy said on Monday it would not proceed with the A$250 million ($188.10 million) sale of its Liddell coal-fired power plant to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises' Alinta Energy unit, reaffirming that it would shut down the plant in 2022."The Offer significantly undervalues future cash flows to AGL of operating the Liddell Power Station until 2022 and the repurposing of the site thereafter," the company said in a statement.
Chinese-owned Alinta Energy had made an unsolicited bid for the ageing plant in April, amid a national debate in Australia over energy security in the country stemming from a projected supply shortfall in the near future.
AGL had come under pressure from Australia's prime minister either to sell the plant or keep it running beyond 2022, following a string of blackouts and price spikes.
The company said it would continue its plan of shifting to gas and renewable power plants as part of a phased exit from coal.
AGL had said it planned to build an A$400 million gas-fired power plant in New South Wales as part of the plan, which would bridge a possible supply shortage for when its Liddell power station shuts.
($1 = 1.3291 Australian dollars)