The Tasmanian Government has placed advertisements in the state's newspapers outlining the current energy crisis and pointing to tips for householders on energy savings.

Key points: Newspaper ads point to household tips for saving power

Newspaper ads point to household tips for saving power Minister says ad gives Tasmanians the facts

Minister says ad gives Tasmanians the facts Additional gas fired unit fired up at Tamar Valley Power Station

The State Opposition and energy analysts have been calling for an energy saving awareness campaign for weeks, but up until now the Government has insisted Tasmanians already use power sensibly and there was no need for one.

A Government spokesman said the newspaper advertisement was placed by the Government in conjunction with state-owned energy businesses.

The ad said Tasmania was dealing with an "extreme weather event" that was seriously impacting on dam storages.

It said the situation was "being further impacted by the ongoing Basslink outage".

Basslink expects to have the undersea power cable back up and running by mid-June. Until then, Tasmania cannot import power from interstate.

In the advertisement, under a heading titled "What you can do to help?", it said "we can all play our part in this effort".

"If you want to help conserve water in our dams, you will find some practical energy savings tips and advice at auroraenergy.com.au."

The webpage has advice on energy efficiency, heating and cooling, as well as ways to save power while using whitegoods, lights, hot water and while cooking.

Energy Minister Matthew Groom said the newspaper ads ensured Tasmanians had the facts. ( ABC News )

Energy Minister Matthew Groom said the ad ensured Tasmanians had the facts.

"People can help," he said.

"If people are in a position to reduce energy use to help conserve water in the dams then we want to make sure that they have access to the information.

"That's why we've been working with the energy businesses to ensure that."

Mr Groom said an additional gas-fired unit was now up and running at the Tamar Valley Power Station.

"It brings online another 58 megawatts of generation and this is substantially earlier than was initially anticipated, in fact by a number of weeks," he said.

The power station is expected to be running at full capacity by June.

Winter power use to surge 20pc

Power use increases by 20 per cent in winter and energy analysts have been calling on consumers to only use power when it is essential.

The Government and Hydro Tasmania have repeatedly reassured residents and businesses that energy contingencies are in place, including 200 diesel generators and the Tamar Valley Power Station, which would meet demand even if Basslink was not repaired by winter.

Unions Tasmania have suggested households receive a rebate for every kilowatt hour less they use, compared to the same billing period last year, but that has been rejected by the Government.

Opposition Leader Bryan Green wants a fuel subsidy to be offered for businesses or homes with an alternative power supply.

Mr Green said the advertisements were too little, too late.

"Newspaper ads and information on websites are certainly part of the puzzle but alone they fall far short of what's required," he said.

On Wednesday, Michael Bailey from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry said small to medium businesses were at a loss to know how they could help during the energy crisis.

"As far as small to medium businesses go [there's] a concern across the community as to where we're at, and what we need to do to help," he said.

"There's really not much we can do, particularly at a residential level. What we don't want to see is people going cold for really no reason other than just wanting to help."

Mr Groom has repeatedly ruled out forced power rationing.

A Senate inquiry into the state's energy crisis is set to begin on April 14.

Current projections by Hydro Tasmania are for dam levels to fall to about 12 per cent by early May, but then "stabilise" as winter rain arrives.

The weather bureau is forecasting average autumn rain.