Energy Minister Guy Barnett told a government business enterprise hearing on Hydro Tasmania on Thursday $885,000 was spent in the quarter ending June 30, 2018, and $3.356 million was spent in the 2018-19 financial year.

The government's dispute forms part of a larger arbitration process between Hydro Tasmania and Basslink with the government seeking $122 million in damages after an undersea cable outage contributed to the state's 2016 energy crisis.

The amount spent by Hydro Tasmania on its dispute was not disclosed.

Mr Barnett said the arbitration process was ongoing and was expected to take time, up to another 24 months, to play out.

"The government considers it the most appropriate and prudent course of action to protect the interests of the state," Mr Barnett said.

"Energy security is a top priority for our government."

Hydro Tasmania chairman Grant Every-Burns said at this stage it was difficult to discuss either dispute.

Questions by committee chairwoman Murchison independent MLC Ruth Forrest about how Hydro Tasmania could insure itself against lost revenue from Basslink outages went unanswered on the basis this could not be discussed while the arbitration process was ongoing.

Mr Barnett said he wished to assure Tasmanians the state's energy supply was secure.

"There have been some concerns, as I know in a letter to the editor as recently as today. I'd like to assure the author of that letter Brian Khan, readers of The Examiner and anyone else in the North ... the concerns expressed in that letter are unfounded and we are certainly a renewable state," Mr Barnett said.

"We've got the regulated CPI cap on electricity prices to keep the cost of living down [and] the cost of business down."

Mr Barnett said hydro water storage levels were tracking very well for the beginning of summer.

"Current [water storage] levels are 47.2 per cent which are very good for this time of year," he said.

"That is some 16 points above the high reliability level."