Maybe they were once when you worked in the industry but they certainly aren't now.
Coal contracts are not locked in necessarily.
They are hedged these days and they also participate in the spot market as they compete against exports. They also are reluctant to lock in long term contracts now as they can't be sure how much electricity they will produce in the future thanks to competition from renewables.
Or wars, for that matter.
" A key issue for NSW coal fuelled generators is that they must compete against exports for coal. Average prices paid for coal are lower than export prices because (i) the coal quality is at discount to export spec coal. NSW generators are designed to run on high ash, lower calorific coal (call it crap coal if you like, certainly I wouldn’t want to live next to a generator burning it) (ii) Generators are protected by historic contracts. For virtually all four generators those contracts will have expired by 2025 and for Vales Point B and Eraring earlier. Mt Piper is entirely dependent on Springvale and will need a coal unloader to access additional coal supply.
