This earlier-than-expected media release from Basslink, as well as the arrival of copious amounts of water falling from the heavens over the past few weeks, will be warmly welcomed by many – perhaps none more-so than the state government.

The government – and particularly Energy Minister Matthew Groom – have been on the receiving end of some extraordinary claims by critics, so news that the cable was ready again for use two weeks earlier than expected will undoubtedly have been met with a broad smile.

As of Friday, the cable was being reburied and all testing had been successfully completed.

It has been a tumultuous time for the government.

The as yet unknown cause of the Basslink fault which struck six months ago could not have come at worse time for Hydro, with near drought conditions putting a huge strain on its power generation capabilities.

The energy corporation’s dams were at record low levels. It had only just finished decommissioning the Tamar Valley Power Station. Those plans were scrapped and the station was brought back online, along with 100MW of diesel generators.

All of this came at a huge cost financially – not only to the state government but also to the business sector, particularly the state’s largest energy user, Bell Bay Aluminium. 

General manager Ray Mostogl told a Senate inquiry in April that the energy crisis would cost the company $22 million in lost revenue after it voluntarily reduced its aluminium production by 10,000 tonnes.

Other major users Temco, Nyrstar, and Norske Skog also cut back energy consumption.

So as the rain continues to tumble down across the state, and as Basslink slowly churns back into operation it seems as good a time as any to urge our state government to continue its push into expanding our renewable energy production portfolio.

We must continue to canvass further wind generation options.

We must continue to look at solar generation.

We must do what’s necessary to make certain that never let ourselves be forced into the same situation again.