High Voltage Direct Current: Powering two islands - Stories from our infrastructure past

High Voltage Direct Current: Powering two islands

In the 1960s New Zealand had a problem. Electricity usage in the North Island was growing, but the South Island had more abundant opportunities for generation. Using world leading engineering we built a High Voltage Direct Current between the two islands. When built in 1965 it was the largest and longest of its kind. With upgrades and maintenance, it has kept powering New Zealand for over half a century.