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Category: States and Territories / Alternative Energy / Hydro Energy / Electricity Energy and Utilities

Boyer paper mill confident it will not have to reduce power usage

Monday, 22 Feb 2016 11:42:22 | Kieran Jones

Norske Skog Boyer general manager Rod Bender, left, said he did not expect the mill would be asked to reduce it's power usage. (ABC News: Kieran Jones)

The owners of the Boyer paper mill say they have not yet been asked to reduce power as a result of the broken Basslink cable, and do not expect they will need to do so.

Key points:

  • Boyer paper mill celebrates 75 years of operation in Tasmania
  • Current owners, Norske Skog does not expect it will have to cut power usage
  • General manager confirms it has been in discussions with State Government
  • Mill has discussed housing backup diesel generators if power crisis deepens

This morning the mill, which has been owned by Norske Skog since 2000, celebrated its 75th anniversary.

The Basslink cable failed last December meaning Tasmania has been unable to import or export power.

The original repair date of March 19 has since blown out, with Basslink now unable to provide a set date for the repair.

Record low water levels in Hydro Tasmania dams in a state reliant on hydropower has compounded the problem.

The State Government had flagged rationing power rationing for big industrial users and Bell Bay Aluminium has already agreed to reduce its power usage by 10 per cent.

The mill is one of the state's biggest power users but Norwegian company Norske Skog has not reduced its production as a result of the issue.

General manager Rod Bender said it was unlikely it would have to.

"Our last briefing with Hydro said that while things are very tight with expected rainfall and the mitigations that the State Government and Hydro are putting in place, there's a level of understanding that thing's should be OK," he said.

The idea of reducing energy usage had been discussed between Norske Skog and Hydro, although there had been no formal agreements or requests.

"The discussions with Hydro have been around the possibility of [reducing energy use], but at the moment we've not agreed to do anything and I don't think at the moment that Hydro see that as a necessary contingency," Mr Bender said.

"We're still using the power that we have to use. We haven't changed our power consumption at all through the period."

Paper mill happy to discuss housing diesel generators

As a result of the crisis, the State Government will import 200 diesel generators to Tasmania, although the generators may not need to be used depending on the Basslink repair.

The State Opposition said using generators could cost up to $48 million a month if the generators run at full capacity.

Neither Hydro nor the Government has revealed the projected cost of using generators.

Mr Bender said that should the power situation worsen, the paper mill would be willing to help with the roll out of the diesel generators.

"There's some discussions about the diesel gensets being located here, some of them at least, which we're very happy to talk to [Hydro] about," he said.

"We've got an environmental license that makes that possible, and there's obviously a TasNetworks switch yard here which is a good connection point."

Mr Bender also outlined the company's support of the proposal for a second cable connecting Tasmania and the mainland.

"I think in the long-term a second interconnector makes sense, although I'm not sure it's a solution we should spend a lot of time talking about now."

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