Basslink repair delayed by two weeks as crew loses 20 days to bad weather

THE repair date for the Basslink cable has been pushed back to the end of next month.

THE repair date for the Basslink cable has been pushed back to the end of next month.

Basslink said its repair crew had lost 20 working days to bad weather since the fault in the undersea cable was fixed ready for rejoining.

The anticipated return to service date is now the end of June — two weeks longer than first forecast.

Basslink said splicing of the first of two cable joints would start today and the weather was expected to stay clear.

The Basslink repair vessel Ile De Re in dock at Point Henry in Geelong. Picture: ALISON WYND

It is now five months since the cable, which transports electricity under Bass Strait between Tasmania and Victoria, went down.

The breakdown, along with historically low rainfall and dwindling Hydro dam storage levels, sparked an unprecedented energy emergency in Tasmania.

Solid rains over the past three weeks have taken the heat out of the crisis, with dam levels rebuilding to 21.9 per cent — 9.1 per cent higher than the historic lows reached at the end of April.

MORE: DAM STORAGE LEVELS CONTINUE TO RISE

A section of the damaged cable on board the IleDe Re. Picture: SUPPLIED

The diesel generators imported to keep the power on are still on standby but the state is back to being powered solely by renewable energy.

Basslink said the cable should return to full operation within a week of being repaired.

“Given the repair has around 20 days of marine-based work remaining which will be directly affected by any changes in weather conditions, Basslink needs to allow for additional contingency in the timeline for the cable’s return to service,” Basslink said today.