A new marine electricity cable is being installed under Whitianga Harbour.

Work begins in October 2026 to install a new marine electricity cable beneath Whitianga Harbour.  

The cable will provide a stronger, more resilient power supply for local communities, including Whitianga, Cooks Beach, Hahei, Hot Water Beach, and Whenuakite.  

The existing harbour cable is nearing the end of its operational life and is prone to damage as it's not buried beneath the harbour bed. The new cable will be installed using direction drilling and will be located up to six metres below the harbour floor to help secure the power supply to the area. 

Construction is scheduled to start on the week of 12 October, with harbour drilling works expected to take about three weeks, starting at the Cooks Beach side of the harbour, subject to weather and site conditions. Associated work on land in Whitianga is expected to be completed by March 2027. Work will stop between early December and Waitangi Day. 

Work will include the installation of the cable, telecommunications ducts, associated switching equipment and directional drilling works on both sides of the harbour crossing (see maps below). 

During construction:

• The Ferry Landing carpark on Purangi Road, Cooks Beach, will be unavailable for about six weeks (or longer, if required).
• There are 60 additional carparks available nearby on Purangi Road.
• Ferry services and access to the public toilets will remain unaffected.
• Traffic management will be in place.
• Construction machinery and contractors will be working in the area. 

The construction works follows a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey in the Ferry Landing carpark in October last year.   

A power outage is planned to connect the cable to switching equipment on the corner of Panorama Ave, Cooks Beach. Affected customers should receive notification of the planned outage through their electricity retailer (the company they pay their power bill to) or through Powerco's planned outages webpage closer to the time. 

Northpower will be carrying out the work on behalf of Powerco.  

If you would like to contact us about this work, please email community@powerco.co.nz.

Frequently asked questions can be found below.

Above: The new marine cable will be installed using direction drilling and will be located up to six metres below the harbour floor between Cooks Beach and Whitianga.