News

EnergyAustralia and its contractors at Yallourn Power Station are donating more than $21,000 in funding and items to three community groups in the Latrobe Valley as part of a safety initiative.

First Moe Scout Group will receive $7200 in funding and vouchers, while headspace in Morwell will accept $7375 funding and goods including a flat-screen television, smart phones and art vouchers this month. Gippsland Asbestos Related Diseases Support (GARDS) recently accepted $6975 in money and items including an electronic tablet, office chair and vouchers.

EnergyAustralia's contractors Coats Hire Morwell, Waco Kwikform Limited, Insulmet, Tena Koe, Mairin, Traralgon Industries, Beroa and Toshiba contributed to the initiative.

During a major outage earlier this year, employees and contractors received incentives for meeting a number of agreed safety milestones. Employees and contractors then nominated charity groups, which were invited to submit a "wish list" outlining what the organisation hoped to achieve with a donation.

Three were recently selected based on submissions and an extensive voting process by EnergyAustralia employees and contractor representatives.

EnergyAustralia's Yallourn Executive Manager Mark Pearson said EnergyAustralia was committed to supporting local communities.

"At EnergyAustralia, we believe it's important to give back to the local communities in which we operate," Mr Pearson said.

"Our employees and contractors who took part in the outage worked hard to meet key safety objectives during one of the busiest times at the power station.

"The generosity our contractors have shown allowed us all to contribute significantly to these charities.

"This initiative is a win-win - workers operate safely and community groups gain support leading up to Christmas."

First Moe Scout Group Leader Cheryl Hibbs said the donation would allow the group to better provide for events and improve amenities to support local Scouts.

There are 14 participants between ages six and 15 who are part of the Moe Scouts, with plans to continue growing the group.