Latrobe City Council has criticised the push for the Heritage Council of Victoria to consider Hazelwood Power Station's nomination for heritage protection.

The station was shut down in March 2017 after more than half a century of operation.

It is in the process of being decommissioned in preparation for the mine site's transformation into a lake.

But Moe resident Cheryl Wragg wants the ageing plant to form part of a Latrobe Valley industrial history trail.

Ms Wragg was also behind the request to protect the old Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factory that prevented its demolition.

She said both sites are a big part of Victoria's history.

"This is not about putting a fence and a big padlock on a gate around these facilities and watching them decay and fall down, this is about taking those facilities and rendering them safe and opening them up to the public," she said.

Ms Wragg said it would be a mistake to demolish the buildings.

"I am committed, as are any number of other people around the Latrobe Valley, to the development of an industrial heritage trail and you can only develop an industrial heritage trail if you conserve, retain and repurpose that industrial heritage," she said.

A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said the "nomination will be assessed by heritage experts and considered on its merits".

A costly burden

The push has drawn criticism from the Latrobe City Council due to the site being full of asbestos which the Council said would be costly to maintain.

Inside the turbine room at Hazelwood Power Station ( ABC Gippsland: Kellie Lazzaro )

Mayor Kellie O'Callaghan said ratepayers were concerned it could be them picking up the bill.

"I think our community has been really clear they don't want to see any heritage listing resulting in the property that just becomes a burden for the community that may be left to deteriorate," she said.

"We certainly don't want any abandoned, decaying industrial sites."

Cr O'Callaghan wants a guarantee that the burden for looking after any protected sites will not fall to the Council.

"We just want to make sure there's a really solid consultation process around the consideration," she said.

The site's owner, Engie, has hired its own heritage consultants to identify items of significance at the power station and mine.

The company's spokeswoman said it would consult with the community, historical societies and the Latrobe City Council to "determine the most appropriate and respectful way to acknowledge the contribution Hazelwood made to the Latrobe Valley community and the state".