Sydney (Platts)--6Dec2012/402 am EST/902 GMT

Origin Energy Wednesday opened the largest gas-fired power station in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria.

The 550 MW Mortlake power station and associated gas pipeline cost a total of A$810 million ($848 million).

Mortlake is fed with natural gas from Victoria's offshore Otway Basin in Bass Strait. The gas is piped to Origin's Otway gas processing plant at Waare near Port Campbell and connected to Mortlake via an 83 km (51 mile) underground pipeline.

Origin is Victoria's largest energy retailer with 1.1 million customers. The company is also Australia's largest power generator, with the Mortlake facility taking its total generation portfolio to 5,900 MW.

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The power station, which is already supplying electricity to eastern Australia, was officially opened by Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu and state minister for energy and resources Michael O'Brien. The plant is located in western Victoria, about 220 km west of the state capital Melbourne.

The facility is a peaking power station, typically supplying electricity during periods of high demand.

--Christine Forster, christine_forster@platts.com --Edited by Elston Soares, elston_soares@platts.com

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