02 November 2023
Suspended in 2020 due to the impending pandemic, we are very happy to once again welcome you to experience first-hand how we create renewable energy from Tasmania’s abundant water sources!
On Saturday 28 October, Tribute Power Station was opened to the public. On Tasmania’s West Coast, the station was the final piece of the puzzle for our Pieman scheme, and aptly named as a tribute to the thousands of workers who built ‘the Hydro’ from the ground up.
Power Station Operator, Scott Greig, with attendees of the open day.
Hydro Tasmania employees from across Tasmania came together on the West Coast to welcome a capacity crowd of over 170 people, with tickets available for free.
Keen to hear when our next power station open day will be? Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter (click here) to be first in line!
Christa-Lee Johnstone, Maintenance Assistant on the West Coast, was overjoyed to welcome members of the community to the open day. “It’s been a long while since we’ve had an open day, so it’s nice to interact with the general public and have them come in and see our assets which are quite often hidden away.”
Our stations on the West Coast are quite isolated from the rest of the state. But this didn’t stop excited 'hydro fans', with attendees coming from all ends of Tassie, including Hobart and Launceston, to enjoy the open day.
“The people who have come through today have been so passionate... they’ve asked some fantastic questions that have really got us going. In all, everyone has been really excited to be here and really inquisitive,” said Christa-Lee.
An attendee of the open day, Chris Walker, said he’d been waiting for the open days to start up again and described the day as “gobsmacking”.
Power Station Operator, Peter Ebdon, explaining the inner-workings of a hydropower turbine.
“Unless you get down there and have a look, you don’t realise the scope and the amount of work that goes in there. I think everyone has got a big kid inside them. We just love big machines and tunnels and stuff like that,” said Chris.
This kind of feedback is what gets us out of bed everyday… except of course, keeping the lights on! Power station tours are such an important part of our offering to Tasmanians, especially to past employees and their families who have such vital connections to our company over the last 100+ years.
We’d like to thank everyone who joined us at Tribute Power Station, and extend a special shout out to our own employees who took part in the day. Their passion and pride for what they do is what drives us.
Hydro Tasmania will continue to hold power station open days, but spaces are limited. Be the first to hear about our next open day by subscribing to our quarterly newsletter, ‘The Spill’, by clicking here.
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