The Reece Power Station is a conventional

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

located in the West Coast region of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Australia.

Technical details

Part of the

Pieman River The Pieman River is a major perennial river located in the west coast region of Tasmania, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the Mackintosh River and Murchison River, the Pieman River rises in what is now known as La ...

scheme that comprises four hydroelectric power stations, the Reece Power Station is the final station in the scheme, before the water runs out to sea. The power station is located aboveground at the foot of the rock-filled concrete faced Reece Dam (also called the Lower Pieman Dam) which forms

Lake Pieman Lake Pieman is a man-made reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a waterc ...

. Water from the lake is fed to the power station into two independent -long tunnels. The power station was commissioned in 1986 and 1987 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) and the station has two Fuji

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

, with a combined generating capacity of of electricity. The station output, estimated to be annually, is fed to

TasNetworks TasNetworks is a Government of Tasmania State owned company that is responsible for electricity transmission and distribution throughout Tasmania, Australia. It also owns and operates a telecommunications network throughout the state. TasNetw ...

' transmission grid via a 13.8 k V/220 kV Fuji generator transformer to the outdoor switchyard.

Etymology

Both the power station and the dam are named in honour of

Eric Reece Eric Elliott Reece, AC (6 July 190923 October 1999) was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, se ...

, the

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...

between 1958 and 1969 and again between 1972 and 1975. Reece was a firm proponent of the Hydro-Electric Commission and the development of hydroelectricity in Tasmania.

Technical details

Etymology

See also

References

Further reading