HYDRO Tasmania is drawing water from Tasmania's highland lakes at an unsustainable rate in order to capitalise on the carbon tax windfall.
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An analysis of the government-owned electricity company's storage data shows that the company has drawn down one-fifth of the storage capacity of its network in the past 12 months, leaving it at 32.8 per cent capacity.
Energy analyst Stephen Weston said that if the company continued to draw on its resources at this rate for the next 12 months without a significant amount of rainfall the system could dip below 20 per cent capacity, which was considered a ``serious'' low when reached in 2007 and 2008.
``It would appear to be unsustainable, without accounting for inflows,'' Mr Weston said.
However, water storage levels are still higher than they were between 2007 and 2010.
Hydro Tasmania portfolio manager Gerard Flack said its water usage was not unsustainable.
Mr Flack said the company was drawing on the long-term storage of Great Lake and Lake Gordon in order to maximise the profit from the carbon tax while it remains in place.
The tax was introduced on July 1 last year and could soon be scrapped, regardless of the federal election outcome, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last week announcing his intention to return to an Emissions Trading Scheme.
The carbon tax was expected to generate a record $245 million profit for Hydro Tasmania this financial year, but the actual profit is expected to be closer to $100 million.
Losing the carbon tax will wipe an estimated $175 million from expected state revenue.
Mr Flack said capitalising on the carbon tax windfall only involved the two long-term storage lakes and did not affect the rest of the network.
``Storages were deliberately built up in anticipation of the carbon price,'' Mr Flack said.
Lake Gordon had fallen to 20.14 metres below full, 30 metres above its minimum operating level.
Great Lake is 16.14 metres below full, above its minimum operating level of 21.34, but Mr Flack said it was not expected to fall much lower.
Mr Flack said it would not be in Hydro's interests to over-stretch the system.
``Hydro Tasmania will continue to uphold its obligation to prudently manage water storages,'' he said.