HYDRO Tasmania has thanked Tasmania’s emergency services for their swift response to the fire at Tungatinah Power Station on Wednesday night last week. Chief executive Rachel Watson said control of the site was handed back to Hydro Tasmania today, 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,” Ms Watson said. “We are now awaiting the results of the full investigation to identify the cause of the fire.
“I’d like to thank the Tasmania Fire Service, Tasmania Police, and our own teams who have worked tirelessly throughout the response. This has been a challenging time for our people and I want to acknowledge the professionalism, commitment and care shown by everyone involved.”
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.
Ms 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. 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.”
Ms 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.
“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.”
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