The fire that devastated Tungatinah Power Station in Tasmania, Australia, has been ruled accidental following a preliminary investigation, although its precise cause may take several months to establish.
Hydro Tasmania said the blaze started on the assembly bay floor, a workshop area separate from the generating equipment. The power station building sustained significant damage and will have to be demolished.
The utility is not yet able to assess the condition of the turbines or determine when Tungatinah could be rebuilt and returned to generation.
Control of the site was handed back to Hydro Tasmania on 9 September following the Tasmania Fire Service’s preliminary investigation.
“Initial investigations show the fire started on the assembly bay floor, which is a workshop area away from the generating equipment,” Hydro Tasmania chief executive Rachel Watson said. “We are now awaiting the results of the full investigation to identify the cause of the fire.”
Hydro Tasmania said the full investigation was expected to take several months.
The Tasmania Fire Service, Hydro Tasmania employees and contractors spent the weekend following the fire removing debris, stabilising the structure and restoring communications and water supplies to support the recovery effort.
“The building has sustained significant damage and unfortunately will need to be demolished,” Watson said. “We won’t be able to confirm the state of the generating equipment until we can get full and safe access to that part of the station.”
Watson said it remained too early to determine how long it would take to rebuild the power station and resume generation, with much depending on the condition of the turbines.
The fire was reported at about 9pm on 2 September. There were no employees or contractors at the power station at the time, and no injuries were reported.
Hydro Tasmania said its teams had worked alongside emergency services at the site, managed the technical response, communicated with the public and maintained the secure operation of the remainder of its power system. The company has said the incident poses no risk to Tasmania’s electricity supply.
“I’d like to thank the Tasmania Fire Service, Tasmania Police, and our own teams who have worked tirelessly throughout the response,” Watson said. “This has been a challenging time for our people and I want to acknowledge the professionalism, commitment and care shown by everyone involved.”
Hydro Tasmania said it was managing fatigue among the teams involved in the response and supporting the wellbeing of employees affected by the loss of the station.
Watson said the incident had particularly affected members of the company’s Derwent team and those who had worked at Tungatinah over several decades.
“This is not just a building to us. When you work in a remote location for so many years, you build a strong connection to that place,” she said. “This is an incredibly difficult time for staff, both past and present, who have spent much of their career working out of the offices at Tungatinah and dedicated their time to looking after this important power station.”
