Hydro Tasmania is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia.

As the name suggests, they are mainly involved with hydro-electricity, with power stations including 27 hydro-electric, one thermal and two diesel power stations. They also have one wind farm in service, with expansion and two additional wind farms in progress of being approved.

In 1914, the State Government set up the Hydro-Electric Department (changed to the Hydro-Electric Commission in 1929) to complete Tasmania's first station, the Waddamana Power Station.

Beginning in the 1940s, many migrants came to Tasmania to work for "The Hydro" with construction of dams and sub-stations ongoing. The emerging environmentalist groups of the 1970s and 80s resulted in several of the newer developments not going ahead due to public protest. The best known of these is the Gordon-below-Franklin Dam, which ended in 1983 when it was blocked by the federal government.

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.

External link

Hydro Tasmania