Tasmanian Government chases $100 million from Basslink over outage

THE State Government and Basslink appear headed to court over a $100 million damages claim.

Repairs to the Basslink cable.

THE State Government appears set to chase more than $100 million in damages over the Basslink interconnector failure that sparked a months-long energy crisis.

Basslink Pty Ltd has confirmed it received a letter of demand from the government, alleging a breach of agreement and seeking compensation of more than $100 million.

MORE: STATE SEEKS COMPENSATION OVER BASSLINK FAILURE

Energy Minister Guy Barnett did not deny the figure on Friday, but declined to specify the amount the government would be claiming.

“Basslink have made that very clear and I’m not denying that at all,” he said.

“Hydro have incurred considerable losses and costs and I will not be going into further detail.

“The matter is now a legal matter.”

The 2016 energy crisis, exacerbated by a drought that hit Hydro’s power generation, is estimated to have cost the government business $140 million.

Mr Barnett said the matter would head to arbitration if Basslink failed to meet the demand.

“I am standing up on behalf of the state of Tasmania, for Tasmanians, to protect our interests,” he said.

“Energy security is a top priority and we do not want that to be compromised.”

The government is relying on a Hydro-commissioned report that found Basslink ran its interconnector too hard, causing the costly outage.

Basslink has denied it breached the agreement and vowed to fight any legal action.

“Given that the Basslink interconnector was completed and commissioned more than a decade ago, Basslink is extremely surprised at these very belated allegations and strenuously denies that any warranties were breached,” a statement from the company said.

The operator has dismissed the findings in Hydro’s report, completed by risk management consultant DNV GL.