74 ieee power & energy magazine march/april 2016 F1 Benmore 16 kV VG2 P1A VG1 Pole 2 Assets Pole 1 Assets Cable 6 35-km dc Line Section North Island -350 kV Pole 2 (Existing Thyristor Converters 700 MW) Cable 4 Cable 5 40-km Cook Strait Cables Ground (Earth/Sea) Return Current Mode 535 km dc Line Section-South Island +270 kV figure 2. The original configuration of the New Zealand HVdc link before refurbishment. F3 79.3 Mvar F4 79.3 Mvar 50.5 Mvar F2 50.5 Mvar Benmore 220 kV VG3 P1B VG4 C9 C10 C7 C8 R1 F1 47.5 Mvar F2 47.5 Mvar Haywards 220 kV T1 60 Mvar 60 Mvar T5 F3 106.3 Mvar F4 106.3 Mvar C3 C4 R5 35 Mvar Each 40 Mvar C2 60 Mvar 40 Mvar T2 C1 Haywards 110 kV