Dr WOODRUFF - They'll obviously all need to change to keep up with things. The Scotts Peak Dam has been flagged for $50 million of strengthening work due to it being assessed as being high risk. It's my understanding that those planned works have been abandoned. Can you provide the risk assessment documentation detailing why those works aren't going to go ahead? If it's not considered as a high risk now, what is its current rating?
Mr BOLT - Before you answer, apologies that I misunderstood the question which concerned dam safety which, as the CEO has explained, is a critical question. As to the detail on Scotts Peak Dam, over to Ian.
Mr BROOKSBANK - The Scotts Peak Dam work has not been abandoned. It has been scheduled in our asset management plan.
Dr WOODRUFF - What year?
Mr BROOKSBANK - I don't have the plan in front of me.
Dr WOODRUFF - Can I take that on notice - the year that it's been rescheduled to?
Mr BROOKSBANK - I believe so, yes.
Dr WOODRUFF - Thank you. I'm sorry I interrupted you. Can you provide the documentation detailing why it's been reclassified and tell us what the reclassification level is?
Mr BOLT - There's more information we can give you on the nature of the works but in terms of the date - sorry, and your question of which I missed; I was still trying to catch up with the other advice I was getting.
Dr WOODRUFF - The date I will take on notice. The risk assessment has been reassessed?
Mr BOLT - Yes.
Dr WOODRUFF - Please, can we have a copy of the documentation that has explained how it's been reassessed and what the level it's been reassessed to is?
Mr BROOKSBANK - Scotts Peak has been reassessed to be above the tolerable risk level, which means we have two dams at that level - Edgar and Scotts Peak. In a ranking sense, Edgar ranks before Scotts Peak in terms of priority. The dam is an asphalt upstream face, which is unusual in Tasmania, with a rockfill -
Dr WOODRUFF - Thank you, I am familiar with the detail of the work. I won't go into that just for the time of the committee.
Can Hydro provide the ANCOLD regulation that's been altered, showing that what was previously assessed to be an urgent priority and high-risk - the maintenance on Scotts Peak Dam - is no longer required as an urgent piece of maintenance?
Mr BROOKSBANK - If I can clarify, do you mean the ANCOLD regulation which is published by ANCOLD or something specific to the dam itself?
Dr WOODRUFF - I'll be really clear. There's a lot of concern about the lowering of the risk level. People want to understand and see for full transparency what it was based on. It's as simple as that. People just want to see it. You don't need to play out what happened overseas to understand why people want to see it.
Mr BOLT - I gather we're not in a position to answer that question now. I understand the importance of it to the communities involved or approximate to the dam. We will have to take that one on notice and give you some further response.
Dr WOODRUFF - You will provide that actual detail of the ANCOLD regulation that has been altered, apparently, to show that it is no longer high-risk?
Mr BROOKSBANK - Thank you, yes. I will take the question and we will provide an analysis of the ANCOLD regulation which will describe how it's changed over the years and then how the relevant dam has been impacted by those changes and where it sits in our risk management.
Dr WOODRUFF - Thank you, and I will put that on notice, minister.
Dr WOODRUFF - Mr Bolt, has Hydro referred the proposed Edgar Dam works to the federal environment minister under the EPBC Act and if not, when do you expect that to happen?
Mr BOLT - Thank you for the question , Dr Woodruff, and I will refer that to the CEO.
Mr BROOKSBANK - Before I answer that we also have an update on the question regarding Kyrgyzstan and $70 000 of expenditure. The expenditure occurred in the financial year 2021 and relates to an individual contract working as a subcontractor to Entura on Asian Development Bank projects in the Pacific Islands via a company called Energy Economic Services.
Dr WOODRUFF - Has the Edgar Dam works been directed to the EPBC assessment process and what is the time frame?
Mr BROOKSBANK - The project was referred for federal assessment under the EPBC Act on the 21 November this year.
Dr WOODRUFF - The Tuesday just gone.
Mr BROOKSBANK - We are expecting a response in early 2024.
Dr WOODRUFF - The works budget for the Edgar Dam has blown out, or I believe is $26 million, I do not know if it is a blowout but it is a large number. Construction costs since it was estimated have widely tripled around Tasmania for many big projects. What is the current estimated cost for Edgar Dam works?
Mr BROOKSBANK - Thank you for the question. Just to clarify the number you had.
Dr WOODRUFF - Twenty-six million is what I have. You could let us know what it is.
Mr BROOKSBANK - As I mentioned we expect the works to complete by May 2025 but given the delays we expected, sorry, the works to complete by May 2025 but given the delays in approval we expect that now to be May 2026 waiting on the EPBC referral. Our current project budget estimate remains unchanged at $21 million.
Dr WOODRUFF - Do you think that is believable given the remoteness of the area? Wouldn't there also need to be road upgrades done just in order to get access for the works that are required?
Mr BROOKSBANK - As you can appreciate, when we do any work in our organisation it is incredibly well planned. We schedule out the work, we know what the scope is. Access to the dam materials et cetera would have been part of the original scope. Our current estimate is still $21 million for the project. We would expect, however, that as the project progresses it may lead to increased maintenance along our Hydro owned Scotts Peak Road and some minor windings but those impacts and the impacts of the Gordon River Road will be limited.
