Speaking to media outside the station this morning CS Energy CEO Andrew Bills said the company was providing support to employees and thanked everyone on site who responded "in such a professional and calm manner".

"I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of the emergency services crews who attended the site," he said.  

Yesterday at around 1:45pm AEST an explosion and fire broke out at the Callide C Power Station near Biloela, taking multiple transmission lines and other power stations out of service - resulting in the loss of 3.1GW from the grid. 

The Australian Energy Market Operator forecast a Lack of Reserve 3 market notice from 5pm urging customers to limit their energy usage but it was cancelled by 6:24pm due to sufficient supply. 

LOR3 is called when the available electricity supply is equal to or less than the operational demand - meaning there are no reserve supplies available. 

By midnight emergency services handed control of the site back to CS Energy. 

Energy minister Mick De Brenni told the national broadcaster this morning that power was restored with electricity being imported from other parts of the National Electricity Market, and because of its renewables. 

"We had our power stations operating last night, we had our wind farms operating last night, we had Wivenhoe pumped hydro operating last night and those facilities will continue to operate for electricity and keep the lights on while we restore power out at Callide," he said.

"I'm thankful no-one was injured in this incident and we're working hard to resolve these unprecedented issues as quickly as we can." 

CS Energy said based on an initial inspection overnight, Unit C4 has experienced major damage and failure of the turbine, adding that it would take some time to fully understand the cause of the failure and what it will take to repair the unit. 

The company said it would work with its joint venture partner, Intergen, as part of the process, telling AEMO it could take up to 12 months for the unit to come back online. 

"A full investigation with appropriate experts and authorities will be undertaken to understand what has occurred and led to what appears to be a major incident," it said. 

Built in 2001, Callide C is one of the newest coal-fired power stations in the grid, and was overhauled in 2015 for A$48.5 million.