Basslink to stay offline

TASMANIA will not be able to export or import power until at least mid-October after the latest Basslink breakdown.

Basslink last night confirmed it had identified a failure in a cable in an aboveground section in Victoria.

“Basslink has notified the Australian Energy Market Operator that the interconnector will be offline until mid-October,” the company said.

An industry expert said the fault would cost Hydro Tasmania tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue.

HYDRO Tasmania is set to lose out on tens of millions in income from lost energy exports, with Basslink to be out of action until mid-October.

Basslink has revealed Tasmania’s energy link with the mainland will be offline for an extended period because of an on-land cable fault.

In a statement issued around 9pm yesterday, Basslink said it had identified a failure in a low-voltage cable in an above-ground section in the transition station in Gifford, Victoria.

“Basslink is currently preparing a plan for the repair. Based on current information, Basslink has notified the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) that the interconnector will be offline until mid-October,” the statement said.

“Basslink proposes further testing, which will better inform the return to service date.

“At this point in time, the outage only affects the electricity interconnector. Basslink’s telecoms cable, providing broadband services to internet service providers, continues to operate.”

Hydro Tasmania first confirmed late on Sunday that Basslink had been offline since 11am on Saturday.

Hydro Tasmania would not comment any further on the outage last night. Earlier yesterday, State Growth Minister Michael Ferguson said Tasmania’s energy supply was secure.

“Our energy security is absolutely OK and locked in. Our advice from Hydro is that our dams are at 45 per cent capacity — which is more than adequate and well above the prudent requirement levels,” Mr Ferguson said.

Since the 2016 energy crisis, prompted by a six-month Basslink outage due to an undersea fault, Hydro Tasmania has taken a more conservative approach to water storages.

Fourteen of the state’s network of dams are currently listed as spilling after winter rains.

Energy consultant Marc White of Goanna Energy said at current electricity prices, Hydro could be missing out on up to $92,000 an hour in exports.

“I’d expect the value of this outage is in the order of $10 million a month, it could be quite a lot more when we are at that (higher) spot price,” he said.

In March last year, Basslink went down for more than two months following damage to equipment at the Loy Yang converter station.

In recent years the Liberal State Government has extracted significant dividends from Hydro Tasmania to improve the state budget bottom line.