Keppel Infrastructure Trust unit Basslink 'strongly rejects' Hydro Tasmania disputes

KEPPEL Infrastructure Trust (KIT) said on Monday that Australian subsidiary Basslink "strongly rejects" the allegations by Australian state government enterprise Hydro Tasmania that its facilities did not satisfy certain operational requirements.

The disputes relate to the 2015 outage of the Basslink Interconnector that links the state's electricity grid to the Australian mainland.

On Sept 14, Basslink issued Hydro Tasmania a notice of disputes which has since been referred to arbitration.

Last Friday, Basslink received fresh notice of disputes from Hydro Tasmania.

All but one of the disputes are based upon the allegations in reports that Hydro Tasmania's lawyers procured from consultants at DNV GL, Basslink said. Based on the DNV GL reports, Hydro Tasmania has alleged that the Basslink facilities did not satisfy certain operational requirements.

"However, an independent project inspector certified that the Basslink facilities met these operational requirements and signed off on them at the commissioning of the Basslink facilities in 2006," Basslink said in a statement on Monday.

"The DNV GL reports... are based on theoretical modelling and not on any testing of the Basslink HVDC cable, as none was undertaken by DNV GL," it said.

"Basslink maintains its position that the analysis in those DNV GL reports is flawed, as DNV GL used theoretical models based on certain assumptions and not on actual facts (including facts observed and reported on by Cable Consulting International in the independent investigation of failure of the Basslink HVDC cable)."

The last matter that Hydro Tasmania has claimed as a dispute relates to the content of Basslink's Asset Management Plan and Marine Disaster Recovery Plan. Basslink has advised Hydro Tasmania that the content of these plans are under review, it said.

"Nonetheless, Hydro Tasmania has preemptively chosen to institute a dispute about the content of these plans prior to Basslink completing its review of those plans," Basslink said.