Hydro Tasmania has tabled its annual report in State Parliament, reporting an annual profit of $217 million, which it said was “comfortably above corporate target”.
Hydro Tasmania chairman Grant Every-Burns said the above-target profit was driven by favourable trading conditions in the National Electricity Market, and a strong dividend return would be delivered for the people of Tasmania.
“This is a solid and pleasing outcome in a year of below average inflows. We also maintained a secure level of energy, exceeding our storage targets and consistently remaining above the required High Reliability Level,” Every-Burns said.
“We continued our strong support for the Tasmanian community through difficult times. We stepped up our COVID-19 support to help communities and our state recover. Our dedicated COVID-19 Recovery Program supported local business, not-for-profits and community groups with more than $200,000 in funding, bringing our total COVID-19 program funding to $450,000.
“We also saw significant progress for our Battery of the Nation ambitions, with Lake Cethana announced as our preferred site for pumped hydro development and a new future outlined for the Tarraleah hydropower scheme. The Tasmanian and Australian Governments confirmed their strong support for Tasmania’s energy future through a new agreement that sets out a pathway for realising this opportunity,” he said.
Hydro Tasmania acting CEO Ian Brooksbank expressed his pride at the ongoing effort of Hydro Tasmania’s people to underpin another year of significant achievement.
“None of these results could be achieved without the passion, dedication and commitment of our people. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to cause disruption to our business, but our people adapted to ensure we kept the lights on in Tasmania,” Brooksbank said.
Related article: Hydro Tasmania to “progress legal rights” in Basslink arbitration
“Our people continued to deliver for Tasmania through a period of business transformation. This realignment of our organisation will give us the agility to adapt to market disruption and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the clean energy transition.
“We saw adaption and innovation right across our business, with Momentum Energy and Entura again also delivering strong results for their customers.”
Key points from the 2020-21 Annual Report include:
- Annual profit of $217 million—20 per cent above the corporate target of $180 million.
- Safety result achieved was a below target Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) of 4.18.
- COVID-19 Recovery Program announced as the winner of the Clean Energy Council’s 2021 Community Engagement award.
- Net Trust Score increased.
- Ongoing modernisation and maintenance of hydropower generation assets, including significant progress on a multi-year $80 million refurbishment program for Trevallyn, Catagunya and Lake Echo power stations and the first stage of work on a $20 million upgrade to the Murchison Dam spillway capacity.
- Generation asset performance remained strong, with average portfolio availability above target for the year.
- Installation of an innovative eel bypass, supporting research into curing mange in wombats and rediscovering a once-thought extinct species of crayfish in Tasmania’s waterways. The eel bypass at Trevallyn Dam won the Regional Infrastructure Project Award at the Australian Water Association (AWA) Tasmanian Water Awards.
