As the Government has consistently said, Tasmania is currently facing a very difficult set of circumstances due to the combination of the lowest spring rainfall on record, and the first substantive outage of the Basslink cable. Happening in combination, these circumstances are extraordinary and unprecedented.
Today’s announcement by Basslink of an additional 30 day outage has made that challenge even more difficult. But as serious and challenging as this issue is, it is manageable and that is what the Government is doing.
The updated advice received today from Hydro is that, based on its modelling, water storages are now projected to reach a low of 14 per cent, assuming long-term average rainfall. This level is expected to be reached towards the end of March or early April.
As a consequence of these developments, contingencies that have been worked on over recent weeks will now be activated. These include:
In addition, an offer from TEMCO to reduce its power consumption, without detriment to its ongoing production or viability will be formalised as soon as possible. This will reduce TEMCO’s energy consumption by approximately 30 MW.
In the event that there are further adverse developments then additional contingencies that are currently being worked on would be brought into place. In this context, Hydro Tasmania has been progressing planning for the potential securing of additional temporary generation assets should further adverse outcomes require it.
While the Government cannot rule out energy savings measures with major users, based on current projections they are not anticipated to be required.
Based on advice, the Government has no plans to pursue energy savings measures with the broader community.
It is important to note that the Basslink outage
will have no impact on power prices.
The Government has also taken
the decision to establish an Energy Security Sub-committee of Cabinet to
oversee the situation. The Sub-committee will be chaired by the Minister
for Energy and includes the Premier, the Treasurer, the Deputy Premier and other
relevant advisers. The first meeting of the Sub-committee will take place
tomorrow morning.
It will be tough, but we will get through it. It is important as we continue to work through this issue that as a community we all stick together. To that end, the Government has offered Labor and the Greens, as well as the Legislative Council, the opportunity for a briefing on the situation.
The Government’s priority in response to this issue is energy security. Tasmanians can be assured that we will do everything it takes to maintain energy security in Tasmania.