By Sonali Paul
MELBOURNE, April 29 (Reuters) - EnergyAustralia, the country's third largest power retailer, said on Thursday Managing Director Catherine Tanna had decided to retire after seven years at the top and would be replaced by the head of its customer business.
The change comes at a challenging time as Australia's power industry grapples with the transition to cleaner energy, sliding wholesale power prices, and government rules forcing companies to cut electricity bills for households and small businesses.
Tanna's decision to retire follows the sudden exits of the bosses of AGL Energy AGL.AX , Australia's biggest power company, and Queensland state-owned Stanwell Corp in the past week. Collette will replace Tanna in July, EnergyAustralia, a unit of Hong Kong's CLP Holdings 0002.HK , said.
"Mark is a highly experienced executive who has played a pivotal role in positioning EnergyAustralia to navigate the complexities of the energy transition," Chairman Graham Bradley said in a statement.
To help meet EnergyAustralia's goal to cut carbon emissions, Tanna in March negotiated a deal with the state of Victoria allowing the company to shut its Yallourn coal-fired plant in 2028, four years earlier than planned. company is due to decide soon, possibly on Friday, whether to expand its Tallawarra gas-fired power station in the state of New South Wales.
The Australian government has set an April 30 deadline for companies to approve plans to build 1,000 megawatts of flexible power capacity to replace an ageing coal-fired plant, Liddell, set to shut in 2023. industry fails to come through, the federally-owned Snowy Hydro company plans to build a 750 MW gas-fired plant in New South Wales.
Industry and green groups say a plant of that size is not needed.
"The...government is taking action to protect NSW households and businesses from high energy prices if Liddell is closed without adequate replacement," a spokesman for Energy Minister Angus Taylor said.