UK and French regulatory authorities exploring additional joint electricity interconnections

French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) and Great Britain’s independent energy regulator Ofgem have come to an agreement to continue exploring further electricity interconnection development opportunities of around 1 GW capacity between France and the UK.

The countries have an electricity partnership that was established with the creation of the IFA interconnector in 1986, supplemented by IFA2 in 2021 and ElecLink in 2022, amounting to a total existing interconnection capacity of 4 GW.

Thereby, the two national regulatory authorities (NRAs) regularly assess the opportunity for new interconnection capacity, particularly by estimating the costs and benefits of such projects.

In the UK, Ofgem has granted regulatory approval to two additional projects between France and the UK – FAB Link and GridLink, which were respectively granted the cap and floor regime in principle in 2015 and 2018. FAB Link underwent an updated needs case review in 2022, concluding that it was likely still in the interest of consumers, while last year Ofgem rejected AQUIND’s application for a cap and floor regime.

In France, transmission system operator (TSO) Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE) provided CRE with a preliminary analysis of four projects between the two countries in 2023, covering ElecLink 2, FAB Link, GridLink and AQUIND.

Later on, CRE’s study on the value of new interconnection capacity between France and the UK found that under certain conditions, a capacity of around 1 GW of new interconnection could be beneficial for France. The analysis highlighted that the benefits were insufficient compared to the costs of a new project if the costs and revenues were shared equally between the UK and France and only a redistribution of costs between the parties was likely to be considered acceptable for projects to proceed.

The NRAs have thus engaged in discussions to explore the potential for interconnection development opportunities. Due to the cost escalation of HVDC cables and converters and the current need to reinforce the national networks where congestion is anticipated, they have agreed that further discussions are needed, which will consider the conditions required to enable around 1 GW of increased interconnector capacity, and the issue of cost and revenue sharing between the two countries.

The plan includes publishing an updated joint statement on regulatory positions by the end of October 2025.

The parties have also committed to the prospect of conducting a joint study in the longer term, to further explore and establish the need for joint projects and the potential cost-sharing mechanisms. These processes will also be coordinated with the help of relevant TSOs where required.