Power stations affected by fire in the Mersey Forth scheme in Tasmania’s north west are being progressively returned to service, Australian utility Hydro Tasmania has announced.
Rowallan, Fisher and Lemonthyme power stations were all affected when fire burned large areas throughout the Mersey Forth power scheme, with a significant amount of infrastructure associated with the stations extensively damaged, including power poles, communications services and a transmission line – although the stations themselves received little real damage.
Chief Operating Officer, Evangelista Albertini said over the weekend Hydro Tasmania teams installed standby generators to provide power to equipment that controls the flow of water from Lake Mackenzie into and through Fisher Power Station and the hilltop valve that supplies Lemonthyme Power Station.
"As a result, we expect Fisher Power Station to be available for operation on Thursday 28 January. Lemonthyme Power Station has already been returned to service," he said.
"Many of the power poles that have been downed by fire are in challenging terrain, and it may take several weeks to restore them. The priority at this stage is restoring output from Rowallan Power Station."
The impact of the fires on these powers stations is inconvenient but has not resulted in any negative impact on energy security for Tasmania, said the utility in a statement.
