Hunter Power Project more than a year behind schedule

The Hunter Power Project at Kurri will not be fully operational until December 2024, more than 18 months after the closure of Liddell Power Station.

Snowy Hydro's new chief executive Dennis Barnes told Senate Estimates on Monday that the $600 million project had been hit by construction delays due to bad weather. There was no guarantee that costs and timelines would not blow out further, he said.

The 660 megawatt peaking generator was initially due to open later this year to help offset the closure of Liddell, which will close in April.

Mr Barnes said the Hunter Power Project would commence operating in a limited capacity as early as May 2024.

Problems with the project were among the reasons that prompted ratings agency Standard & Poor's to issue a negative credit rating for the federal government-owned energy supplier in December.

The Albanese government committed an extra $700 million to the project with the aim of converting it to run on a blend of 30 per cent green hydrogen.

Senate Estimates heard that Snowy Hydro was still working on a business case for the green hydrogen component. The business case is due to go to the government before the 2024 federal budget.

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