This was, in part, a consequence of the fact that 750 jobs will disappear when Hazelwood closes. In a region of entrenched high unemployment and social disadvantage, job losses of that magnitude will inevitably bring further economic hardship. Aside from coverage of the economic impact, there were also claims that Victoria would be forced to become a net power importer, that household power bills would rise by up to $86 a year, and that the reduction of base-load power capacity would adversely affect the state's future ability to host heavy industry. There was also a deal of silly finger-pointing by state and federal politicians anxious not to be associated in any way with the closure or the job losses.

The Australian Energy Market Operator dispelled some of the more histrionic claims. In a report on Victoria's supply outlook, AEMO stated Hazelwood's closure would reduce surplus electricity traditionally exported to NSW, Tasmania and South Australia, but that increased output from NSW black-coal generation and SA gas-fired generation would cover up to 90 per cent of the consumption previously met by Hazelwood. As for any potential impact on supply reliability, AEMO stated that there would be sufficient capacity available to continue to operate the national electricity market "reliably".

It's to Josh Frydenberg's discredit that he couldn't have been as reassuring, particularly for Victorian households and industries fearful of the advent of more expensive, more unreliable power. Instead the federal Energy Minister claimed that "electricity prices will rise" and that the Andrews government had put Victoria's energy security at risk by making it clear there was no place for coal-fired power in the energy market. In fact, Hazelwood's closure were preordained by both its age and its unprofitability in an electricity market increasingly shaped by the Commonwealth, state and territory renewable energy targets.

Just as freight companies routinely replace worn-out trucks with new, more efficient, less-polluting vehicles, so electricity generators have to update old power stations or build new ones as circumstances dictate. Hazelwood's capacity for upgrade was limited not just by economics but by the fact that its fuel source is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emission.

As AEMO noted, Hazelwood's closure represents an opportunity for "supply side options to emerge" – and, it might have added, an opportunity to reduce Australia's carbon dioxide emissions. While efforts to that end have concentrated mainly on the uptake of renewables, there is still a requirement for baseload power. In Victoria's case the start of the transition of base-load power capacity from coal to gas would seem overdue.