The current undersea cables were installed in 1991 and are expected to reach the end of their useful life in the early 2030s. Transpower will replace them with four new submarine cables, increasing transfer capability from 1200 MW to 1400 MW and adding further redundancy.
New cable termination stations will also be installed on both sides of Cook Strait as part of the wider upgrade programme, with the main work planned for 2030 and 2031. Prysmian has been contracted to design, manufacture, deliver and install the new cable system.
