What's that about?

The business has been a significant part of life in Tasmania for almost 100 years and we plan to continue to play our part in the State’s growth and further development for another 100 years.

Hydro Tasmania is a complex and varied business. Not only do we generate renewable energy and trade in the National Electricity Market, we are the country’s leading clean energy business and the largest water manager in Australia. We also have an extensive professional services business known as Entura and a mainland-based retail arm Momentum. We are building wind farms and developing technology to bring renewable energy solutions to remote areas. Find out more about us >

So it’s not uncommon for our people to be asked about what we do. “What’s that about?” or “What does all that actually mean?”

We want to try and answer these complex questions in a simple way, so click the questions below to find the fact sheets. We will try to keep the majority of fact sheets to no more than two pages.

Why lake levels change

Hydro Tasmania is the largest water manager in Australia. We manage water for multiple uses, but the main purpose is for hydro-electric power generation. There are a number of factors that affect the level of the lakes we manage in Tasmania.

Read about power station outages and how they impact on lake levels >

Read about how we use water modelling to predict water levels in our lakes >

How much do lake levels vary?

Hydropower lakes change level because water is used to spin turbines to make power. In this way, water flows in and out of the lakes we operate for hydropower.

Read about how much lake levels vary >

How does cloud seeding work?

Cloud seeding is a process of increasing the potential rain from naturally occurring clouds. Download the Cloud Seeding factsheet with a question and answer style >

What’s happening at Rowallan Dam?

In 2010 as part of normal dam checks, Hydro Tasmania found that we needed to update the spillway at Rowallan Dam. There is currently a temporary measure in place, but a modern spillway needs to be built. This work will be done during  summer 12/13 and summer 13/14.

Read all about it in the pdf factsheet >

Who provides flood warnings in Tasmania?

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) advises of flood warnings in Tasmania. Hydro Tasmania helps BoM by providing our water level and flow data to help it make its predictions.

Get all the details on who issues flood warnings in Tasmania here > 

Why do levels at Lake Barrington change so often?

Lake Barrington is part of a hydro-electric scheme. The water is used for power generation. Plus, it makes for a great location for world-class rowing and other recreational activities.

Read more here about when and why the water levels change >

Why can’t water for recreation be released more often?

Essentially, as a water manager, we need to balance many different requirements and don’t always have the flexibility available to modify water flows to suit recreational uses.

Read more here about water releases for recreation >