Latest news with #TasNetworks
ABC News
18 hours ago
- Science
- ABC News
New 'risk-mapping tool' aims to prevent bird deaths from powerlines
Craig Webb says he does not want to share images of dead eagles on his social media pages. "But the fact is there are so many that I feel like everyone needs to know," the Raptor Refuge founder said. "I wish there was none. I'm not trying to cause trouble. I'm just trying to put it out there … how many of these birds are succumbing to powerlines." Raptor Refuge is a not-for-profit sanctuary in southern Tasmania dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of the state's birds of prey. Mr Webb said a "high percentage" of the birds that came into the sanctuary were injured by powerlines. "There's a real threat to them out there, and we see countless birds brought in with damages, or they're dead," he said. Technology that is used to mitigate against the risk of birds being electrocuted includes flappers — small reflective disks that hang from powerlines — perches, and covers. TasNetworks said more than 600 kilometres of its distribution lines had flappers, perches or covers installed — up from 140 kilometres in 2023-24. It has also used what is called the "delta design standard" that spreads lines further apart to reduce electrocution risk. Tasmania's powerline network includes 20,310 kilometres of distribution lines. University of Tasmania researchers, in partnership with TasNetworks, have released a new "risk-mapping tool" aimed at preventing powerline bird deaths. By tracking 23 wedge-tailed eagles over six years, the research team built a model that predicts where eagles are most likely to cross powerlines, and where the risk of death is highest. Lead researcher James Pay said powerlines were among the leading causes of injury and death for large birds of prey in Tasmania, and globally. It is hoped the data will help TasNetworks identify where mitigation technologies are most needed. "There's some other models that [TasNetworks has] been working on as well," Dr Pay said. "We're combining them all together to help guide where to put either the different designs of the powerlines or the bird flappers more proactively — rather than relying on where the birds have already been killed." TasNetworks said it invested almost $1 million every year in bird protection. In 2023-24, 11 threatened birds were "impacted" by powerlines, down from 26 reported incidents in 2022-23, according to TasNetworks. Mr Webb is concerned the number of birds injured or killed by powerlines in Tasmania is under-reported. "These birds are found under or near powerlines where there are people around," he said. "So you can imagine how under-reported this is because there are so many powerlines that aren't near people and aren't near townships that are not going to be found." More than 9,400 powerline crossings at "risky altitudes" were recorded during the project. Mr Webb said it was "a significant number". "If we can learn from that and do some more mitigation work in those areas, well, that's fantastic," he said. However, he said more investment in implementing mitigation was needed. "It's taken all this time to really realise what's happening and how these birds can see these powerlines. "We've got to catch up to all those kilometres and kilometres of powerlines that have never had anything and, in fact, make it mandatory that all new powerlines have flappers on them." Dr Pay said installing mitigation technologies could be costly. "The only thing that really holds it back is the amount it costs to get these things put out and also to maintain them," he said. "It'd never be feasible to put them everywhere, but [it is feasible] to target them where they're needed, using methods like the model that we've developed." TasNetworks said mitigation technologies were installed "all the time, based on high-risk areas and new reporting". "We're investing strongly in new technology like fibreglass cross-arms and the delta design standard to make the network itself more bird safe, in turn reducing the need for flappers and perches," a spokesperson said. If you find an injured or dead raptor in Tasmania call 1800 RAPTOR (1800 727 867).
Perth Now
30-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Unions flag walk offs over 'Musk-like' saving measures
Unions could take industrial action against flagged privatisations and "Elon Musk-like" public service cuts contained in a Liberal state budget. Tasmania's government is investigating whether eight government-owned entities, including bus operator Metro and power provider TasNetworks, should be sold. The Liberals, who inherited no debt when they came to power in 2014, will more than double debt to almost $10.8 billion by 2028/29. Interest repayments debt is expected to rise to almost $650 million a year by 2028/29, according to Thursday's budget. The government wants to cut 2500 state service jobs by 2033 and has set up an "efficiency unit" to find public sector savings of $150 million a year. "The irony of the government setting up a new team to cut waste is not lost on us," Unions Tasmania secretary Jessica Munday said on Friday. "It seems like the government has ripped off Elon Musk and brought it to Tasmania." Mr Musk was in charge of a body tasked with reducing spending as part of US President Donald Trump's government. Ms Munday said cuts of 2500 would have a big impact on services in a state of Tasmania's size. She didn't rule out protest strikes. "We will do whatever is necessary to protect not only members' jobs but defend services provided to the community," she said. Treasurer Guy Barnett says his budget charts a sensible path to surplus, despite no surpluses being contained across four years of forward estimates. "We are very focused on delivering frontline services to Tasmania that need it. We have a 12 per cent increase in health funding," he told reporters. Mr Barnett also spruiked $9.9 billion in education spending and record cost-of-living support. Head of social services body TasCOSS, Adrienne Picone, said the Liberals had lost sight of real issues in pursuit of a $945 million new Hobart stadium. "A new stadium won't help Tasmanians living on low incomes feed their family and get their foot into the housing market," she said. "We're also concerned the level of debt we're taking on to fund infrastructure projects is severely impacting the funding available to deliver essential services. "We are aware of many community services organisations who will be cutting hours, cutting staff, changing services delivery and cutting services completely." Mr Barnett said the government would have more to say in coming months about potential state-owned business sales, following a review by economist Saul Eslake. The government has taken the sale of some businesses, including Bass Strait ferry operator TT-Line, off the table.
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
TasNetworks not equipped to handle 2024 storm event and outages, review finds
In August last year, Tasmania was hit by a severe weather system that lasted for five days. It pummelled the state with heavy rain, flooding and damaging winds that caused extensive damage to the electricity distribution network. All in all, 47,000 customers were left without power in the middle of winter, some for a week or more. Tasmanians voiced frustration in the aftermath at not only the length of time it took for power to be restored but at a persevered lack of communication and updates from the network. An independent, government-commissioned review into TasNetworks' response to the event and those concerns has now been released. While noting the high number of outages and impacted customers would also challenge other Australian energy utilities, it found TasNetworks did not have the internal resource capacity to manage the event. "Customers without power were understanding of the magnitude of the event but were frustrated by the inability of TasNetworks to provide timely and accurate information — particularly to address the key question of 'When is power expected to be restored?'" the report said. "Customer access to online communications channels was limited by the absence of power, compounding communication challenges. "Customers without power were relieved to see a TasNetworks crew arrive, with the expectation that power would be restored imminently, not understanding the crew was either working to simply make the network safe, or scoping the nature of repairs that were required. "Naturally, this led to confusion and frustration." The review also found there were classes of "vulnerable people (and businesses) in many communities that are not as well understood or well-served". The review also noted many Tasmanians were not able to shower or charge phones during the outage. After weeks of repair work by crews, TasNetworks directed all crews take two days of leave on September 12 and 13. "By this stage, less than 1,000 customers remained without power," the report said. TasNetworks also brought in contractors and interstate crews to help manage the outages, but said the induction process for these crews did impact deployment. But "it would not be reasonable to expect that TasNetworks be permanently resourced to respond to an exceptional storm event such as the prolonged 2024 event." The report recommended a number of changes to how TasNetworks communicates with its customers and recommended a more proactive, transparent, and consistent approach across all communication channels. "This would include messaging that informs customers of TasNetworks' awareness of the incident, educates them of the challenges associated with restoration times, and honestly indicates if the event may be protracted beyond 72 hours," the report said. "Customer feedback was that the SMS notification process should be 'opt-out', rather than opt-in (because many customers didn't receive information through this means)." The review recommends a temporary living support grant for disconnections longer than seven days should be looked into and that all local government areas consider what arrangements they have in place for back-up power supplies. "A representative from TasNetworks should join the public emergency briefings, sharing outage and restoration information in future major events," the report said. "This direct communication could reassure the public, alleviate concerns, and reduce the burden on call centres by providing clear and consistent updates." TasNetworks has also been recommended to investigate the provision of community response vehicles to affected communities to provide charging and internet facilities. TasNetworks chief executive Sean Mc Goldrick said the company had already introduced changes to improve the accuracy and timeliness of its communication. "TasNetworks routinely reviews major events, as we've done via our Post Incident Report. We never stop looking for improvements and listening to customers," he said. "Learnings and improvements from the 2024 storms have already boosted our response to late-summer bushfires on the west coast and lightning storm outages in March. "TasNetworks thanks Tasmanians for their overwhelming support and understanding in difficult and frustrating times."
