IN 1914, the Tasmanian government bought a small, struggling electricity company, and called it the Hydro-Electric Department.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Later called the Hydro-Electric Commission, Hydro Tasmania will celebrate its 100th birthday this week, after a century of both highs and lows.
Hydro's first power station was opened in 1916 in Waddamana at the Great Lakes. Demand for power was constantly growing throughout Hydro's early years, but expansion was hampered first by the Great Depression, and later by World War II.
After the war, Hydro recruited large numbers of European migrants to help with the construction of power stations.
English, Polish, German, Italian, Scandinavian and Eastern European migrants lived and worked in Hydro communities alongside Tasmanians.
Many stayed permanently, and some were the first employees from what would become multi-generational Hydro families.
By the 1950s, most Tasmanians were living in fully electric houses, but power supplies had been pushed to the limit.
Power restrictions were introduced after a severe drought began late in the decade, and did not break until 1968.
This was the prelude to what was arguably Tasmania's greatest ever environmental conflict.
Controversy erupted over first the Hydro's plan to flood Lake Pedder, and then the planned dam for the Gordon-below-Franklin.
Tasmania's environmental movement had begun, and the campaign to save the Franklin River became a national issue.
In 1981 a Power Referendum was held, with 47 per cent of voters in favour of the Gordon below Franklin dam and 45 per cent voting informally.
About 33 per cent wrote "No Dams" on their voting papers.
In 1983, a High Court ruling found that the dam could not be built, effectively ending the Tasmanian government's dam building program, and leading to a change in mindset for the state-owned company.
In 1998, the Hydro-Electric Commission was split into three — Hydro Tasmania, Transend and Aurora.
Hydro joined the National Electricity Market in 2005 and commissioned the Basslink connector in 2006.
Hydro has since invested in windfarms on King Island, Woolnorth and Musselroe.
A feasibility study into a $2 billion wind farm project on King Island is close to completion, although the project's future will depend on what happens to the Renewable Energy Target.
Last year, Hydro was extremely profitable, making $240 million due to the positive effects of the carbon tax.
This year, the transmission and distribution sectors were merged under TasNetworks, which absorbed Transend and took over distribution from Aurora.