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National Grid has confirmed that the 1GW of the IFA interconnector, which was damaged by fire yesterday (15 September), will be unavailable until 27 March 2022.
The other 1GW of the facility was already offline due to a planned outage, which National Grid has now extended until 25 September.
Fire crews were called to a blaze at the interconnector, which provides a direct current link between the UK and France, in the early hours of yesterday.
The IFA2 interconnector, which also has a 1GW capacity, continues to operate at full capacity.
The fire has added to the turbulence in wholesale power markets with price records broken multiple times over the past fortnight.
EnAppSys director Phil Hewitt described the interconnector fire as a “major event”, adding: “With margins tight anyway for this winter, as exposed by National Grid ESO’s early winter outlook publication this year, it puts the GB market in a risky position for the winter and especially if we suffer from periods of low wind and cold temperatures.”
Meanwhile, Britain and Norway have today signed a bilateral treaty on electricity interconnection, ahead of the expected commissioning of the 1.4GW North Sea Link between the two countries next month.
In a statement the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said: “Today’s agreement ensures that the full benefits of the North Sea Link interconnector are realised by ensuring that the trading arrangements over North Sea Link are market-based and transparent and that the maximum securable level of capacity of the interconnector is made available for use.”
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