SEQ power supply secure in face of drought

JOINT STATEMENT

8 March 2007

The State Government has taken further steps to ensure the delivery of water to south east Queensland, State Parliament was told today.

Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure Anna Bligh today informed the House of plans by the Queensland Water Commission to save more water by restricting supply from Wivenhoe Dam to power stations in south east Queensland.

“I’ve been advised by the Queensland Water Commission that the proposed restriction will take effect as part of Level 5 restrictions as of April 10,” Ms Bligh said.

“Our dam levels are at record lows and so are the inflows into them. We’re facing the worst drought in a hundred years. We all have a role to play, no matter how big or small and we must work together to meet the challenges ahead.”

From April 10, the volume of water supplied by SEQ Water to Tarong North power station will be reduced to 4400 megalitres.

“This will require a reduction in the daily water use from the current 20 ML a day to 12 ML a day. That’s a reduction of 40% in water use.

“The volume of water supplied by SEQ Water to CS Energy which operates Swanbank power station will also be reduced to 2130 ML from April 10 until 1 September 2007. This represents an average daily reduction from 20 ML a day to 15 ML a day - a 25% reduction.

Ms Bligh said the restriction would apply until 1 September this year by which time Swanbank power stations would be supplied with water from the Western Corridor Recycled Water pipeline.

“The Queensland Water Commission advises that these measures together will lead to total water savings of up to 13 ML a day.

“To put that figure in perspective, it’s the average daily water usage of around 65,000 people, enough to meet the residential needs of Redcliffe, Boonah and Kilcoy.

“It’s savings of this magnitude that will ensure the continuity of our water supplies until our drought response projects come on line,” Ms Bligh said.

The Deputy Premier said that water savings would be achieved without threatening the security of electricity supply to the region.

Minister for Mines and Energy Geoff Wilson also told State Parliament that the supply of electricity to homes and businesses in south east Queensland would be secure.

“I’ve also been advised that under the new arrangements jobs will be secure at Tarong North and Swanbank power stations,” Mr Wilson said.

“South east Queensland electricity supplies are drawn from the national electricity grid which services eastern Australia.

“While power stations closest to the major population centres of the south east are important in maintaining a reliable supply, they don’t operate in isolation.

“Power to south east Queensland is supplied from 9 power stations in southern Queensland, power stations in Central Queensland through major transmission lines and from power stations elsewhere in eastern Australia through the two inter-connectors to New South Wales.

“Southern Queensland power stations which aren’t affected by directions on the use of Wivenhoe water include Braemar, Oakey, Millmerran and Roma.

“In September they’ll be joined by the new 750 megawatt Kogan Creek power station which uses one tenth of the water used by its wet-cooled counterparts with water drawn from sub-artesian bores.

“I’ve had the security of south east Queensland’s electricity supply analysed by a taskforce that included representatives from Powerlink, the Queensland Water Commission, my department and other government departments.

“The taskforce has received advice from generators Tarong Energy and CS Energy about how they are dealing with drought conditions.

“The taskforce also considered the impact of possible Water Commission directives alongside operational options available to Tarong Energy and CS Energy in operating their power stations at the Tarong and Swanbank sites.

“Importantly, the taskforce conducted its analysis assuming continuing drought conditions in the period leading up to the connection of both Swanbank and Tarong to the recycled water pipeline.

“The taskforce considered possible ways to modify generation to conserve water while at the same time ensuring that the power stations at Swanbank and Tarong remain on-line and have the flexibility to maintain security and reliability of supply.

“Advice to government from Powerlink is that south east Queensland has sufficient supply options from southern Queensland power stations, plus transmission links to Central Queensland and the national grid, to give us the ability to reliably meet the bulk power requirements of customers in south east Queensland.

“This means the power supply to homes and businesses in south east Queensland is secure,” Mr Wilson said.

Media Inquiries: Deputy Premier’s Office 3224 6900
Minister Wilson’s Office 322 51861