Hydro Tasmania
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Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as The HEC, is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia.
The Hydro is mainly involved with hydro-electricity, with power stations including 27 hydro-electric, one thermal and two diesel power stations. It also has one wind farm in service, with expansion and two additional wind farms in progress of being approved.
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History
In 1914, the State Government set up the Hydro-Electric Department (changed to the Hydro-Electric Commission in 1929) to complete the first HEC power station, the Waddamana Power Station. The Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company had built the Lake Margaret Power Station prior to the HEC completing Waddamana.
Following the Second World War - in the 1940s and early 1950s, many migrants came to Tasmania to work for the HEC with construction of dams and sub-stations. This was similar to the Snowy River Power 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
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 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 of Tasmania. During the '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 proposal and early works on the Gordon-below-Franklin Dam, ended in 1983 when it was blocked by the environmentalists and subsequently the Federal Government following nation-wide protests.
HEC to Hydro
The conservationists and the HEC in the 1980's 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 devlopment of further dams would eventually become redundant.
Hydro Tasmania was formed on the dis-aggregation of the Hydro Electric Commission on July 1, 1998. This resulted in the division of the formerly government owned department into three companies - Hydro Tasmania which generates the power, Transend Networks which distributes it across the state, and Aurora Energy, the retail arm, which sells it to customers. This is in anticipation of Tasmania joining the NEM (National Electricity Market), which will open up the market to competitors.
Bibliography
- Garvie, R. 1962 A million horses
- Thompson, P.1981 Power in Tasmania
- Scanlon, A. 1995 Water Power
External link
- Hydro Tasmania (http://www.hydro.com.au)