Hydro Tasmania says investigations are underway to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed Tungatinah Power Station on Wednesday, 2 September.
Hydro Tasmania CEO Rachel Watson said Tasmania Fire Service’s preliminary investigation had determined the fire was accidental and started on the assembly bay floor—a workshop area separate from the generating equipment.
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There were no employees or contractors at the station at the time and no injuries were reported.
“We are now awaiting the results of the full investigation to identify the cause of the fire,” Watson said.
The Tasmania Fire Service, Hydro Tasmania workers and contractors spent the weekend removing debris, stabilising the structure, and restoring communications and water to the site to support recovery efforts. Control of the site has now been handed back to Hydro Tasmania.
Watson said it was still too early to tell how long it would be before the power station could be rebuilt and generating again, with a lot depending on the state of the turbines.
“The building has sustained significant damage and unfortunately will need to be demolished,” she 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 the loss of the station had hit its workers hard, especially the team in the Derwent and others who have worked regularly at the site over many 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.
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“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.”
