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Category: Electricity Energy and Utilities / Hydro Energy

Tasmania warned to use diesel generators only 'as a last resort'

Saturday, 13 Feb 2016 05:40:49 | Rosemary Bolger

Devotees try to form a human pyramid to break a clay pot containing curd during celebrations to mark the Hindu festival of Janmashtami in Mumbai yesterday. Janmashtami, which marks the birthday of Hindu god Krishna, was celebrated across the country yesterday. — Reuters

All other options to conserve the state's energy supplies should be exhausted before switching on costly diesel generators, an energy analyst has cautioned.

Key points:

  • Energy analyst Marc White warns power from diesel generators being rushed into Tasmania costs five times as much as importing the same amount from Victoria
  • Mr White recommends further negotiated commercial load reductions with major industries before firing up the generators, and household and business cut backs
  • Hydro Tasmania now wants to bring in 200 diesel generators after Basslink cable fault repairs seem likely to blow out further

Hydro Tasmania has more than doubled the number of diesel generators on order to 200 after Basslink revealed it would not be able to fix the undersea power cable to Victoria by the target date of March 19.

The cable has been out of action since December 20, forcing Hydro Tasmania to rely heavily on already low water storages to meet the state's energy demands.

Hydro is not saying how much it is spending on alternative power supplies, but consultant Marc White estimated it would cost five times as much to run a diesel generator as import the same amount of electricity.

"Before running the diesel generators, there'll be more opportunities to negotiate commercial load reductions with major industry and really keep those diesel generators as a last resort," he said.

Bell Bay Aluminium and TEMCO have already agreed to cut back their power use, and Mr White believed discussions with other big power users were at an advanced stage.

The Government also urged households and small businesses to be prudent about their electricity use.

Domestic power use accounts for 40 per cent of the state's energy demand.

"At the margin it will certainly make a difference, but really to buy time the major industries hold the key," he said.

More problems for Basslink

Basslink said the repair mission to fix the fault in the undersea power cable would be further hampered by bad weather conditions in the coming days.

Basslink revealed it would not be able to repair the cable by the target date of March 19 because of poor visibility on the seabed.

A team of 60 experts on board a specially fitted-out ship are carrying out extra tests at the fault site about 100 kilometres off the Tasmanian coast.

However, three to four days of bad weather predicted for Bass Strait may force the ship to return to Victoria.

Basslink CEO Malcolm Eccles said they would not know how long it would take to repair the cable until the fault site had been narrowed down to less than a kilometre.

"Until we've completed all the measurements that we'd like to do and have all the analyses done, it's too early to say," he said.

"We are undertaking additional testing and doing more measurements to be more accurate to ensure that when we do decide to cut the cable we are cutting in the right place."

Another two trips will be needed to repair the cable.

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