The output from Ecogen's Newport and Jeeralang power stations is currently contracted to EnergyAustralia, the country's third-biggest electricity and gas retailer.

[3] Newport 'A' was opened in 1918 as a coal-fired power station by the Victorian Railways to supply electricity as part of the project for the electrification of its suburban rail system.

Newport 'B' was opened by the SECV in 1923 to supply electricity to Melbourne until the Yallourn power station entered service.

Use of the plants declined with the opening of newer power stations in the Latrobe Valley, becoming used for peak loads in later years.

After the State Electricity Commission announced in 1967 plans for the construction of a large gas-fired power station in Newport, local residents began holding public meetings to discuss the potential harm to the community from pollution.

Stan Williams, secretary of the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen's Association, declared to the then-Premier of Victoria Rupert Hamer: "The fact is that we're not going to build it at Newport, and that's final."

The aggressive response led to a gradual retreat by the union leadership, under added pressure from the poor economic climate.

[5] The union leadership agreed to a compromise that a panel led by Louis Matheson would investigate the proposed plant.

Matheson was considered unsympathetic to the campaign against the plant, because he had risen to national prominence as Vice-Chancellor of Monash University in the late 1960s, during a time of widespread student protest there.

Protesters clashed with police at the construction site, while campaign meetings continued to draw hundreds of workers and residents.

[7] The Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator reported that Newport D emitted 538,108 tonnes (593,163 tons) CO2-equivalent of Scope 1 greenhouse gases between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018.

AES Transpower sold Ecogen Energy in December 2002 to Babcock & Brown and its investment offshoot Prime Infrastructure.