Ministerial Statement

Mr Speaker, the drought, the worst in living memory, has put pressure on our most vital commodities – water and power. They go hand in hand. We can’t have one without the other. We need power stations to provide us with electricity to get on with our daily lives.

A report on the impact of the drought on electricity by NEMMCO, the national electricity market management company, is expected to be released on Friday, after the Ministerial Council on Energy has had an opportunity to consider it.

Mr Speaker, the impact of the drought paints a grim picture for everyone. We are not alone. The consequences of the drought are being felt right across all the eastern states and Tasmania. We’re in it together. And Queensland, like other states, has its eye on the ball.

Several months ago, I set up a special taskforce made up of key stakeholders from across government and industry to analyse in depth what the drought meant for electricity.  The expert advice to the taskforce is based on a range of complex estimates and assumptions, including hydrology modelling.  The taskforce meets every fortnight and monitors the situation every step of the way.

The State Government is working with the power industry on ways to save water, while at the same time maintaining a reliable and secure bulk electricity supply.

We will shortly appoint an independent expert to double check the work we have done.

This is about striking the right balance between providing a secure and reliable electricity supply and meeting the water needs of the people of south east Queensland.

Power stations are also playing their part.  Tarong Power Station has made significant water savings by reducing its generation by 70%, Tarong North will reduce by 40%, and the Swanbank site by 25%. CS Energy also decided to further reduce Swanbank B’s generation to two units for much of May to save more water.

Advice from the taskforce is that Queensland is taking the right action to maintain a reliable and secure bulk supply of electricity for homes and businesses in south east Queensland.

And we’re building now to meet future electricity needs.  The recycled water pipeline will provide recycled water to Tarong and Swanbank.

What we’re putting in place now, is our investment in the long term future of each and every Queenslander.