BY JARROD MELMETH

The boss of the planned gas-fired power station at Kurri Kurri says New South Wales will suffer the same fate as Queensland if the project doesn’t go ahead.

The comments follow a blackout on Tuesday which affected 470,000 customers after an explosion at the Callide Power Station in Queensland.

Snowy Hydro CEO Paul Broad was the subject of a senate estimates hearing on Tuesday where he says such plants were needed to manage risks such as the Callide explosion.

“There is a hospital in Queensland on emergency diesel right now. This is deadly serious to people in serious predicaments.

“We sit here today, and, let me tell you I spend my life thinking about this,” Mr Broad said.

Last week the federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor confirmed the government would be handing over $600 million to Snowy Hydro to construct the 660 Megawatt open cycle gas turbine on the former Kurri Kurri aluminum smelter.

The project has received mixed reactions from all sides of politics, business and advocacy groups.