Cable fault on HVDC link

Friday, 8 October 2004, 10:37 am
Press Release: Transpower

Transpower, the owner and operator of the national electricity grid, says one of the Cook Strait cables is likely to be out of service for at least six months.

The maximum capacity of the inter-island link has been reduced by about 15%.

There are three submarine cables crossing the Cook Strait as part of the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) link between Benmore in the South Island and Haywards in the North Island.

Transpower’s General Manager National Grid, David Laurie says a fault was detected in one of the cables on Tuesday morning.

“Electrical testing has indicated that there is a cable fault in shallow water in Oteranga Bay, close to the North Island end of the cable.

“Further investigations, including diving inspections, will now be carried out to identify the exact location of the problem and determine the cause of the failure.

“The time needed to make repairs is not yet known, but it is likely to be a minimum of six months.” With the cable out of service, the maximum capacity of the HVDC link is reduced from 1040 megawatts to 886 megawatts.

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