Loy Yang power station is operating at half capacity this morning as APEC protesters chained themselves to a conveyor belt taking coal into one of the furnaces.

The Group say they are making a stand for all Australians to protect our community against the dangers of climate change. The group says the APEC meeting is being used to further the lies and deciet being spread by Prime Minister Howard in regards to the Climate Change issue and his continuing efforts to undermine the Kyoto Protocol. A group spokesperson said that Climate Change ends with leaving coal in the ground.

Victoria's brown coal power stations contribute 65% of the states emissions. So for a 65% cut we need to transition of states power production and jobs over to renewable energy, the group says.

Four protesters have locked themselves to a coal conveyor, and Loy Yang Power has shut down the 600 megawatt generator as a safety measure.

Another power unit at Loy Yang is out for maintenance and today's forced shutdown has dropped power output to half.

A spokeswoman for the activists, Michaela Stubbs, says the action is intended to send a message to APEC leaders meeting in Sydney this week.

"We're already seeing the effects of climate change and it's our generation and future generations that are going to be dealing with the long term consequences of climate change,"

"We need to see real action now, through the Kyoto process"

The electricity price in Victoria has risen to $63 because of the action and is expected to cost the operators thousands of dollars in lost production. Police search and rescue are on their way and are hoping to remove the protestors. The protestors have vowed to hang on as long as possible.