Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advises Transpower on New Zealand undersea cable supply link upgrade

Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSF Kramer) has advised New Zealand’s national grid owner and system operator, Transpower, on an undersea cable agreement with Italian-owned cable manufacturing company, Prysmian. Under the agreement, Prysmian will manufacture and install four 40km undersea electricity cables in the Cook Strait. 

The agreement is a major step towards Transpower’s work to renew the critical High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) link that connects the North and South Island’s electricity systems. 

The HVDC Link Upgrade Programme will be completed in two stages. Stage 1 includes installing four new cables, increasing transfer capacity to 1400 MW, and upgrading associated infrastructure including the cable termination stations at Oteranga Bay and Ōraumoa/Fighting Bay. Stage 2 includes replacing the IT systems that operate the link.

The four subsea cables will be delivered by Prysmian to New Zealand and installed in 2031 by a state-of-the-art cable-laying vessel that is capable of operating in the challenging conditions in the Cook Strait. 

The energy and projects team advising on the matter include lead partner, Toby Anderson, senior associate, Talia Lake and solicitor, Tessa Hill.

Partner Toby Anderson said, “It was fantastic to advise Transpower on this major cable agreement for a project of such national significance and to support its ambitions to deliver reliable, secure and affordable energy to Kiwis for decades to come.

“This particular type of cable is only manufactured by a small number of suppliers, with the cables designed to change the direction of power flow numerous times a day depending on factors like electricity supply and demand, weather patterns and reservoir levels in New Zealand’s hydro power stations.”

Executive General Manager Strategy, Regulation & Governance David Knight said, “Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer were excellent to work with. They were very responsive and brought their considerable energy infrastructure expertise to the table, which was key in securing early reservation of capacity.”

The Prysmian agreement is another example of HSF Kramer’s market-leading energy sector work. Other recent examples include our firm advising:

• Marinus Link on the procurement of a 750-megawatt High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea and land cable for the Marinus Link interconnector between North West Tasmania and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria.
• Marinus Link on its A$3.8 billion project financing of Stage One of the Marinus Link interconnector project.
• Edify Energy on the first-in-market $3 billion development and project financing of Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap Solar Power Stations in Central Queensland.
• EnergyCo on the design and implementation of Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) to support renewable energy development.
• Aggreko Australia Pty Ltd in connection with the development of a hybrid power facility to supply electricity to the Surat Gas Project (SGP) North, in Queensland’s Surat Basin.
• Sumitomo Corporation on a new joint venture with NTT DATA Group Corporation and JA Mitsui Leasing to develop and operate the Intra-Asia Marine Cable (I-AM Cable).