{{Short description|Government hydro electricity provider in Tasmania, Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=March 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox company |name = Hydro Tasmania |logo = Logo HydroTasmania.png |logo_size = 200 |image = Gordon Dam.jpg |image_size = 250 |image_caption = The {{convert|140|m|adj=on|abbr=on}}-high concrete arch [[Gordon Dam]], built in 1974; one of the many assets owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania. |former_name = Hydro-Electric Commission |type = [[Government-owned corporation|Government enterprise]] |industry = [[Utilities]] |founded = 1914 |founder = [[Government of Tasmania]] |hq_location = [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]] |hq_location_country = Australia |area_served = Tasmania |key_people = Richard Bolt ([[Chairman]])<br>Rachel Watson ([[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]]) |products = 9,000 GWh of electricity |services = [[Electricity generation]] |operating_income = $1.8 billion |income_year = 2024 |net_income = $193 million |net_income_year = 2024 |num_employees = 1,395 |num_employees_year = 2024 |parent = Government of Tasmania |subsid = Entura<br>Momentum Energy |website = {{URL|www.hydro.com.au}} |footnotes = <ref>[https://www.hydro.com.au/docs/default-source/about-us/our-governance/annual-reports/hydro-tasmania-annual-report-2024.pdf?sfvrsn=6ad6929_1 Annual report for year ended 30 June 2024] Hydro Tasmania</ref>}}
'''Hydro Tasmania''', formerly the '''Hydro-Electric Commission''' ('''HEC'''), is a [[Tasmanian Government]] [[Government-owned corporation|business enterprise]] which is the main [[electricity]] generator in [[Tasmania]], Australia. Originally oriented towards [[hydro-electricity]], owing to Tasmania's [[Geography of Tasmania|dramatic topography]] and [[Climate of Tasmania|relatively high rainfall]] in the central and western parts of the state, today Hydro Tasmania operates 30 hydro-electric and one [[Gas Turbine|gas]] power station, and is a joint owner in three [[wind farm]]s. ==History== [[File:Hydro-building-hbt.jpg|thumb|right|The {{convert|46|m|adj=on}}-high Hydro building is a prominent feature on [[Hobart]]'s skyline]] ===Establishment=== In 1914, the [[Government of Tasmania]] set up the Hydro-Electric Department (renamed the Hydro-Electric Commission in 1929) to complete the first [[hydro-electric]] power station, the [[Waddamana Hydro-Electric Power Station]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220821083524/https://engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-06/eha-magazine-v1-6.pdf The Hydro after 100 Years] ''[[EHA Magazine]]'' March 2015 pages 16-19</ref> Prior to that two private hydro-electric stations had been opened the [[Launceston City Council]]'s [[Duck Reach Power Station]], opened 1895 on the [[South Esk River]] (it was one of the first [[hydro-electric]] power stations in the southern hemisphere. [[Reefton Power Station]] in New Zealand is the first municipal hydro-station, beginning operations in 1888) and the [[Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Company]]'s [[Lake Margaret Power Station]], opened in 1914. These power stations were taken over by the HEC and Duck Reach was closed in 1955. Lake Margaret was closed in 2006, but after a multimillion-dollar refit was recommissioned in 2009.
Following [[World War II]], in the 1940s and early 1950s, many migrants came to Tasmania to work for the HEC with construction of dams and substations. This was similar to the [[Snowy Mountains Scheme]] in [[New South Wales]] and similar effects in bringing in a significant number of people into the local community enriching the social fabric and culture of each state. Most constructions in this era were concentrated in the centre of the island.
As the choice of rivers and catchments in the central highlands were exhausted, the planners and engineers began serious surveying of the rivers of the west and south west regions of the state. The long-term vision of those within the HEC and the politicians in support of the process, was for continued utilisation of all of the state's water resources.
As a consequence of such a vision, the politicians and HEC bureaucrats were able to create the upper Gordon river power development schemes despite worldwide dismay at the loss of the original Lake Pedder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lakepedder.org/resources/reports/Pedder2000Submission.htm|title=Lake Pedder Submission 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515115300/http://www.lakepedder.org/resources/reports/Pedder2000Submission.htm|archive-date=15 May 2008}}</ref> The hydro-industrialisation of Tasmania was seen as paramount above all, and the complaints from outsiders were treated with disdain.
===Interrupted dam making=== Following the flooding of [[Lake Pedder]] by the HEC for the upper Gordon Power Development and the subsequent backlash against the HEC incursions into the south west wilderness of [[Tasmania]], environmental groups of the 1970s and 80s alerted the rest of Australia to the continued power that the HEC had over the Tasmanian environment and politics.
Numbers of Tasmanian politicians either rose or fell on their alignment with the support of the HEC and its power development schemes in the south west and [[West Coast, Tasmania|West Coast]] of Tasmania.<ref>Pink. Kerry (2001) ''Through Hells Gates: A History of Strahan and Macquarie Harbour'' Fifth edition {{ISBN|0-646-36665-3}} pp.71-88 for accounts of the ''Organisation for Tasmanian Development'' and others</ref>
When the HEC proposed a dam on the Gordon River, sited below the Franklin River, there was widespread and vigorous opposition. During the Franklin River 'No Dams' campaign it was common for members of families to be in conflict with one another by being aligned with the HEC proposals or the Conservationists.
The Tasmanian Labor Government attempted to resolve the dispute by offering a compromise dam, sited on the Gordon River above the Olga River, which would have avoided flooding the Franklin River. However, almost no-one wanted this compromise. Conservationists were concerned that the Franklin River area and surrounding wilderness would be damaged, and those in favour of a dam preferred an option that would utilise the Franklin's water as well as the Gordon's water. The Tasmanian Government then offered a referendum on the issue, which only offered two choices: the Gordon below Franklin dam and the Gordon above Olga dam. There was widespread condemnation that the referendum did not offer a 3rd choice of not having any dam on the Gordon River, and various opinions were offered as to the best way of communicating this at the ballot box. As it turned out, of the 92% of eligible voters to attend the voting booths that day, 47% voted for the Gordon below Franklin option, with the remainder voting informally (45%) or for the Gordon above Olga option (8%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/InfoSheets/referendums.htm |title=Referendums - Tasmania |publisher=Parliament.tas.gov.au |access-date=2012-02-23 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604183425/https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/InfoSheets/referendums.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The conservationists were ultimately successful in their campaign to stop any dam on the Gordon River, and the proposal and early works on the [[Franklin Dam|Gordon-below-Franklin Dam]] ended in 1983 when it was blockaded by the environmentalists and the recently elected Liberal State Government lost a [[High Court of Australia|High Court]] challenge to the Commonwealth's powers. The new [[Hawke government]] in [[Canberra]] had opposed the Franklin dam and had moved to stop its construction.
The compromise between the State and Federal government and conservationists led the HEC to see the end of an over fifty year long dam making enterprise in the construction of the [[Henty River]] and [[King River, Tasmania|King River]] power developments.
===The limits reached=== The conservationists and the HEC in the 1980s acknowledged that there were a limited range of options for further power development schemes, and it was inevitable that the substantial workforce within the HEC specifically employed in the investigation and development of further dams would eventually become redundant.
For a time from the late 1990s HEC water storages were progressively drawn down due to power demand exceeding long term supply, the overcoming of which was the original reason the Gordon-below-Franklin dam was proposed. It was claimed that the shortfall has been offset first by drawing down water storage and in latter years through increasing volumes of fossil fuel power generation, at first fuelled by oil and more recently by gas and, via the [[Basslink]] cable link to [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], coal. However, as of 2025 Tasmanian energy demand is matched by local supply because of the introduction of new wind projects in the state, water storages are stable and Basslink imports are matched over the year by exports [https://reneweconomy.com.au/marinus-link-is-a-boondoggle-cutting-it-in-half-wont-change-that/].
===From HEC to Hydro Tasmania=== In the early 1990s, eastern state governments prepared for the [[National Electricity Market]] (NEM) and electricity deregulation. In anticipation of Tasmania joining NEM, the Hydro-Electric Commission was broken up on 1 July 1998, creating three separate state-owned companies:
* Hydro Tasmania, the [[electricity generator]]. * [[Transend Networks]], the [[Electric power transmission|electricity transmitter]]. Transend has since merged with Aurora's distribution arm to form [[TasNetworks]]. * [[Aurora Energy (Tasmania)|Aurora Energy]], the [[Electric power distribution|electricity distributor]] and [[electricity retailer|retailer]], which sells and distributes electricity to customers.
Tasmania joined NEM in May 2005.
Starting from the 1990s, Hydro Tasmania has been investing in wind farms, the first one being the [[Huxley Hill Wind Farm]] on King Island, which was completed in 1998. This was followed by two wind farms at [[Woolnorth Wind Farm|Woolnorth]] with a combined capacity of 140MW. Construction of a fourth power station, the [[Musselroe Wind Farm]] with a generating capacity of 168 MW was completed in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energy/our-power-stations |publisher=Hydro Tasmania|title=Our power stations|access-date=17 December 2012}}</ref>
It was argued in support of the [[privatisation]] of Hydro Tasmania that it would result in an increase in revenue and an improvement in company efficiency. The [[Tasmanian Liberal Party|Liberals]] supported privatisation in the 1990s but failed to convince the public of its merits. They have now reversed this policy. The present policy of all three major political parties is against privatisation, and community opinion mostly supports [[public ownership]].
Hydro Tasmania in the 2000s saw the loss of the old dam building generation. The [[Anthony Power Development]], was considered to be part of the last hydro-electric power development in Tasmania.<ref>[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]], Australian Year Book, Issue 87, 1995 p.552</ref> In 2008, the ''1,000 GWH Project'' saw upgrades to parts of existing structures operated by Hydro Tasmania, and on-going progress towards being a carbon neutral operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hydroworld.com/index/display/article-display/1810974690/articles/hrhrw/News/Australia_utility_to_upgrade_hydro_system_to_add_1000_GWh.html |title=Australia utility to upgrade hydro system to add 1,000 GWh |publisher=Hydroworld.com |access-date=2012-02-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hydro.com.au/about-us/news/2008-05/carbon-neutral-target-part-response-climate-change |title=Carbon neutral target part of response to climate change | Hydro Tasmania |publisher=Hydro.com.au |date=2008-05-01 |access-date=2012-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221041303/http://www.hydro.com.au/about-us/news/2008-05/carbon-neutral-target-part-response-climate-change |archive-date=21 February 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hydro.com.au/annual-reports/2009/contents/our_performance/assets_resource/page02.html |title=Hydro Tasmania Annual & Sustainability Report 2009 | Our Performance |publisher=Hydro.com.au |date=2009-06-30 |access-date=2012-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221114931/http://www.hydro.com.au/annual-reports/2009/contents/our_performance/assets_resource/page02.html |archive-date=21 February 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 2020, Tasmania has an annual [[Renewable energy in Australia|renewable electricity]] capacity of 10 TWh, equivalent to its average annual electricity consumption.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mazengarb |first1=Michael |title=Tasmania declares itself 100 per cent powered by renewable electricity |url=https://reneweconomy.com.au/tasmania-declares-itself-100-per-cent-powered-by-renewable-electricity-25119/ |website=RenewEconomy |language=en-AU |date=27 November 2020}}</ref>
==Precipitation crises== {{main|2016 Tasmanian energy crisis}} During a drought, as Tasmania in early 2016 was reaching the lowest water levels ever encountered, there was a fault in Basslink which led to the shutdown of the link to the mainland for about 6 months creating the 2016 power crisis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-24/lake-gordon-capable-power-generation-despite-record-lows/7275114 |title=Lake Gordon able to generate power despite record low levels says Hydro Tasmania|website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=24 March 2016}}</ref> After Basslink came operational in 2006, the [[Bell Bay Power Station]] was decommissioned in 2009, resulting in a reduction of electricity generation capacity of {{convert|240|MW}}, and leaving only [[Tamar Valley Power Station]] as a non-hydro power station. That plant had been mothballed and was to be sold when the crisis took place. The plant was recommissioned because of the crisis restoring a capacity of about {{convert|200|MW}} and diesel generators were brought in from the mainland with a generating capacity of {{convert|200|MW}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/expert-dismisses-energy-crisis-talk/news-story/856d4411548158581a20fda596216ed8 |title=???|last=Richards|first=Blair|date=29 December 2015|website=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]]|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-12/more-delays-in-basslink-repair-tasmanian-premier-confirms/7162382 |title=More generators ordered after delays confirmed on Basslink undersea cable repair |date=13 February 2016 |website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2016-03-09|last1=Blucher |first1=Alex }}</ref>
In the two financial years from mid-2023 to mid-2025, Tasmania had droughts, and Hydro Tasmania water inflow was 6,200 GWh and 6,700 GWh respectively, complemented by a Basslink net import of 1,910 GWh.<ref>{{cite web |author-link=Ruth Forrest |last1=Forrest |first1=Ruth |title=Hydro Tasmania’s hidden crisis |url=https://reneweconomy.com.au/hydro-tasmanias-hidden-crisis/ |website=Renew Economy |language=en-AU |date=3 November 2025}}</ref>
==Subsidiaries== *Entura is the consulting subsidiary of Hydro Tasmania.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://entura.com.au/about/about-us/|title=Entura|access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref><ref>Part of the library record summary:''Entura is Hydro's consulting business, providing a range of consulting services covering the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of energy and water projects'' {{Citation | title=Entura TA2020 [Records] | publisher=[[Libraries Tasmania]] | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/256640816 | access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref>
*Momentum Energy is a subsidiary, which was fully owned by Hydro Tasmania in 2009.<ref> Part of the library summary of the item '' In September 2009 Hydro Tasmania took full ownership of Momentum Energy'' {{Citation | title=Momentum Energy TA1965 [Records] | publisher=[[Libraries Tasmania]] | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/256640666 | access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.momentumenergy.com.au/|title=Momentum Energy|access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref>
==Power Stations== ===Gas (thermal)=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" ! Power station ! Coordinates ! [[Electric power|Max. Capacity (MW)]] ! [[Steam turbine|Turbines]] ! Fuel type |- | align="left" | [[Bell Bay Power Station|Bell Bay]] (decommissioned) | {{coord|41|8|31|S|146|54|9|E|name=Bell Bay Power Station}} | | 0 | [[natural gas]] |}
===Gas turbine=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" ! Power station ! Coordinates ! [[Electric power|Max. Capacity (MW)]] ! [[Gas turbine|Turbines]] ! Fuel type ! [[Combined cycle]] |- | align="left" | [[AETV Power Station|Tamar Valley]] | {{coord|41|08|24|S|146|54|20|E|name=Tamar Valley Power Station}} | 208 | 1 | [[natural gas]] | yes |- | align="left" | [[Tamar Valley Power Station|Tamar Valley]] | {{coord|41|08|24|S|146|54|20|E|name=Tamar Valley Power Station}} | 178 | 4 | [[natural gas]] | no |}
===Hydroelectric=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" ! Power station ! Coordinates ! [[Electric power|Max. Capacity (MW)]] ! [[Water turbine|Turbines]] |- | align="left" | [[Bastyan Power Station|Bastyan]] | {{coord|41|44|5|S|145|31|55|E|name=Bastyan Power Station}} | 79.9 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Butlers Gorge Power Station|Butlers Gorge]] | {{coord|42|16|1|S|146|15|42|E|name=Butlers Gorge Power Station}} | 12.2 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Catagunya Power Station|Catagunya]] | {{coord|42|27|8|S|146|35|52|E|name=Catagunya Power Station}} | 48 | 2 |- | align="left" | [[Cethana Power Station|Cethana]] | {{coord|41|28|47|S|146|8|1|E|name=Cethana Power Station}} | 90 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Cluny Power Station|Cluny]] | {{coord|42|30|23|S|146|40|52|E|name=Cluny Power Station}} | 17 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Devils Gate Power Station|Devils Gate]] | {{coord|41|21|1|S|146|15|48|E|name=Devils Gate Power Station}} | 60 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Fisher Power Station|Fisher]] | {{coord|41|40|24|S|146|16|06|E|name=Fisher Power Station}} | 43.2 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Gordon Hydroelectric Power Station|Gordon]] | {{coord|42|43|50|S|145|58|35|E|name=Gordon Hydroelectric Power Station}} | 432 | 3 |- | align="left" | [[John Butters Power Station|John Butters]] | {{coord|42|9|17|S|145|32|3|E|name=John Butters Power Station}} | 144 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Lake Echo Power Station|Lake Echo]] | {{coord|42|15|13|S|146|37|13|E|name=Lake Echo Power Station}} | 32.4 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Lemonthyme Power Station|Lemonthyme]] | {{coord|41|36|14|S|146|8|29|E|name=Lemonthyme Power Station}} | 51 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Liapootah Power Station|Liapootah]] | {{coord|42|22|35|S|146|30|36|E|name=Liapootah Power Station}} | 87.3 | 3 |- | align="left" | [[Mackintosh Power Station|Mackintosh]] | {{coord|41|41|56|S|145|38|36|E|name=Mackintosh Power Station}} | 79.9 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Meadowbank Power Station|Meadowbank]] | {{coord|42|36|46|S|146|50|39|E|name=Meadowbank Power Station}} | 40 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Paloona Power Station|Paloona]] | {{coord|41|16|59|S|146|14|56|E|name=Paloona Power Station}} | 28 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Poatina Hydroelectric Power Station|Poatina]] | {{coord|41|48|42|S|146|55|8|E|name=Poatina Power Station}} | 300 | 6 |- | align="left" | [[Reece Hydroelectric Power Station|Reece]] | {{coord|41|43|25|S|145|8|10|E|name=Reece Hydroelectric Power Station}} | 231.2 | 2 |- | align="left" | [[Repulse Power Station|Repulse]] | {{coord|42|30|25|S|146|38|45|E|name=Repulse Power Station}} | 28 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Rowallan Power Station|Rowallan]] | {{coord|41|43|49|S|146|12|49|E|name=Rowallan Power Station}} | 10.5 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Tarraleah Power Station|Tarraleah]] | {{coord|42|18|5|S|146|27|27|E|name=Tarraleah Power Station}} | 90 | 6 |- | align="left" | [[Trevallyn Power Station|Trevallyn]] | {{coord|41|25|26|S|147|6|41|E|name=Trevallyn Power Station}} | 90 | 4 |- | align="left" | [[Tribute Power Station|Tribute]] | {{coord|41|49|01|S|145|39|02|E|name=Tribute Power Station}} | 84 | 1 |- | align="left" | [[Tungatinah Power Station|Tungatinah]] | {{coord|42|16|26|S|146|27|42|E|name=Tungatinah Power Station}} | 125 | 5 |- | align="left" | [[Wayatinah Power Station|Wayatinah]] | {{coord|42|25|41|S|146|32|00|E|name=Wayatinah Power Station}} | 38.25 | 3 |- | align="left" | [[Wilmot Power Station|Wilmot]] | {{coord|41|28|48.5|S|146|7|22.6|E|name=Wilmot Power Station}} | 30.6 | 1 |- | align="left" | Total | | 2272.45 | |}
===Wind farms=== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Wind Farm !! Location !! Capacity ([[Megawatt|MW]]) !! [[Wind turbine|Turbines]] |- | [[Huxley Hill Wind Farm]] || {{Coord|39|56|42|S|143|53|38|E}} || 2.5 || 5 |- | [[Musselroe Wind Farm]] || {{Coord|40|53|14|S|148|08|28|E}} || 168 || 56 |- | [[Woolnorth Wind Farm]] || {{Coord|40|40|50|S|144|42|02|E}} || 140 || 62 |- |}
== See also == {{stack|{{Portal|Australia|Renewable energy}}}} * [[List of power stations in Tasmania]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== '''Hydro Tasmania publications''' * Fenton, Heather (2008) ''Ticklebelly tales and other stories from the people of the Hydro'', Hobart: Hydro Tasmania. {{ISBN|978-0-646-47724-4}} (hbk.) * Garvie, R. M. H. (1962) ''A million horses: Tasmania's power in the mountains'' Hobart: Hydro-Electric Commission, Tasmania. * Lupton, Roger. (1999) ''Lifeblood: Tasmania's Hydro Power'' Publisher: Edgecliff, N.S.W. Focus Publishing, {{ISBN|1-87535-933-8}}, noting (C) Hydro Tasmania and pp. 428–430 ''Reviewers Biographies - 13 HEC staff and retired staff as reviewers of Luptons work - as a commissioned history'' * Quirk, Marilyn. & Arts Tasmania. & Hydro Tasmania (2006), ''Echoes on the mountain: remarkable migrant stories from the hydro villages of the Tasmanian central highlands'' Quirk. Heybridge, Tas. * Scanlon, Andrew. (1995) ''Water power'' 2nd ed. [1st ed 1990] Hobart: Hydro-Electric Commission, Tasmania. {{ISBN|0-7246-4231-5}}
'''Other publications''' * Kellow, Aynsley J. (1996) Transforming power : the politics of electricity planning. Cambridge, UK; [[Cambridge University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-521-47122-2}} (hbk) {{ISBN|0-521-47697-6}} (pbk.) * Thompson, Peter. (1981) ''Power in Tasmania'' Hawthorn, Vic: [[Australian Conservation Foundation]] {{ISBN|0-85802-067-X}}
==External links== *[http://www.hydro.com.au Hydro Tasmania] *[http://www.momentumenergy.com.au Momentum Energy] *[http://www.entura.com.au Entura]
{{EnergyTasmania|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Electric power companies of Australia]] [[Category:Government-owned companies of Tasmania]] [[Category:Government-owned energy companies of Australia]] [[Category:Hydro Tasmania| ]] [[Category:1914 establishments in Australia]] [[Category:2016 Tasmanian energy crisis]]