IFA2 is 240 kilometres long subsea power cable, which stretches along the sea floor between Fareham, Hampshire in the UK and near . The cable, known as the IFA Interconnector, will finally return to full service after further work, which National Grid hopes to complete by October 2023. The IFA interconnector has two Bipoles, each with a capacity of 1,000MW. In order to keep the disturbances of the magnetic compasses of passing ships as small as possible, a bipolar cable was used. Following an initial review, we have updated the market that 1000MW is unavailable until 27 March 2022. sims 4 occult baby traits; 22 . No: 07209102 Thankfully no one was injured and the emergency services got the fire under . Interconnexion France-Angleterre (IFA) is a joint venture between the French transmission operator RTE and National Grid, operating a 2 gigawatt subsea electricity link between Britain and France. The shock shutdown of the subsea cable sparked concern among industry experts over Britains energy supplies during record high market prices across Europe. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. June 22, 2022; Posted by . Dear Customers, We wish to update you on the major incident that occurred at IFA yesterday. With margins tight anyway for this winter, as exposed by National Grid ESOs 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. Oversees and coordinates EMEA coverage of power, gas, LNG, coal and carbon markets and has 20 years' experience in journalism. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. "The site has been evacuated and the safety of our staff, emergency teams and local residents is our . Interconnexion France-Angleterre (IFA) is a joint venture between the French Transmission Operator RTE and National Grid, operating the subsea electricity link between Great Britain and France, commissioned in 1986. And what capacity will I now have? All maintenance activities will be incorporated into return to service program. The outage comes at a time when UK baseload power prices are at record highs due to soaring gas prices, high. In recent months, the soaring cost of natural gas and a warm, dry and windless start to autumn 2021 caused record prices on the market. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. "We are completely focused on getting. The IFA1 stands for "Interconnexion France-Angleterre". Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Phil Hewitt, a director of the market consultancy EnAppSys, said at the time that the fire was a major event that would leave the UK in a risky position this winter especially if we suffer from periods of low wind and cold temperatures. The EU Commission and the UK Government continue to negotiate the terms of a free trade deal. Cory, B.J., Adamson, C., Ainsworth, J.D., Freris, L.L., Funke, B., Harris, L.A., Sykes, J.H.M., High-voltage direct current converters and systems, Macdonald & Co. (publishers) Ltd, 1965, p175218. Customers are able to return plastic or glass bottles and aluminium cansin exchange for vouchers wo Energy bills are set to increase as the level of the government's Energy Price Guarantee will rise, The company expects its gas retail portfolio will be "almost entirely gone" by end of 2024, a fire in September. We wish to update you on the major incident that occurred at IFA yesterday. The equipment occasionally faults, causing capacity to drop: in a bad year, this might happen several times. [12], In September 2021, a major fire at the Sellindge converter station led to the shutdown of the link. If you enjoyed this story you can sign up to our weekly email forEnergy Live News and if youre interested in hearing more about the journey to net zero by 2050, you can also sign up to thefuture Net Zeronewsletter. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. A spokesperson for National Grids electricity system operator (ESO) said Britain would have sufficient electricity supplies on Wednesday despite the incident. Please visit the BMRS website for the latest market updates via the REMIT report. The subsea electricity . In the long run, we will lose 2GW of import to the GB markets whilst we are struggling at the moment with low margins. Smart navigation app uses 3D sound to guide blind people. We have been able to reduce the outage time of 1000MW of capacity at the IFA interconnector so that it will come back to service on 20th October, ahead of the 23rd October date we had previously published. This was eventually decommissioned in 1984 and replaced by a second link capable of carrying 2GW in 1986. Earlier this week, the GMB Union called for a new generation of nuclear power plants in order the help UK meet its 2050 net-zero carbon emissions pledge. Capacity Rights Reduced By Approximately: When will I see my revised capacity rights on JAO? Gas and electricity prices surged yesterday, with month-ahead gas prices hitting all-time highs, after National Grid confirmed that the blaze at a site in Kent had caused the closure of the IFA . The continued size and duration of the flows are open to some doubt, given the growth in demand in continental Europe for clean electricity, and increasing electricity demand within France. Following an initial review, we have updated the market that 1000MW is unavailable until 27 March 2022. LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A fire halted a power link between France and Britain on Wednesday, squeezing tight UK electricity supply further and sending prices to near record highs. However, France imports energy as needed during the winter to meet demand, or when there is low availability of hydroelectric power. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. 15.99MW would result in 15 MWs after the curtailment). Customers who hold LT capacity rights can view there post curtailment allocation rights at D-2 on the JAO Platform. Prices of electricity on the day-ahead market peaked at 2,500.01 per MWh for delivery between 7pm and 8pm on the N2EX exchange, with an average daily price of 424.61. On Wednesday, National Grid said the fire. Register Now A fire at National Grid's IFA power interconnector site in Sellindge has caused the site to be evacuated while emergency services deal with the incident, the UK transmission system operator said Sept. 15. The undersea section consists of eight 46km (29 miles) long 270kV submarine cables, laid between Folkestone (UK) and Sangatte (France), arranged as two fully independent 1,000MW Bipoles, each operated at a DC voltage of 270kV. Interconnexion France-Angleterre (IFA) is a joint venture between the French Transmission Operator RTE and National Grid, operating the subsea electricity link between Great Britain and France, commissioned in 1986. We are completely focused on getting IFA safely returned to service as soon as possible and we are in discussions with the UK ESO and our European partners to ensure we optimise upcoming planned pre-winter outages of our other interconnectors to support UK security of supply. The system was built with solid-state semiconductor thyristor valves from the outset. A fire at National Grid's IFA1 interconnector site in Sellindge is to see power prices once again spike in the UK as 1GW of capacity drops off the system. It forced the shutdown of one of the most important power cables, which brings electricity from France to the UK. This HVDC-link is 73km (45 miles) long in route, with 70km (43 miles) between the two ends. This is combined with the fact that some generators that were mothballed over summer have yet to restart, making wholesale electricity prices surpass their highest-ever level even prior to the interconnector fire. We are completely focused on getting IFA safely returned to service as soon as possible and ensuring we are able to support security of supply. National Grid, which owns the 2,000 megawatt cable, expects half of its capacity to return to service on Wednesday but said extensive work would be needed to bring the power link back to full service. The site has been evacuated and the safety of our staff, emergency teams and local residents is our highest priority. Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Ipswich and Ilchester. "There has been a fire at our IFA interconnector site in Sellindge and emergency services are in attendance," the National Grid stated. Writes about those markets as well as climate change, climate science, the energy transition and renewable energy and investment. In accordance with the IFA Access Rules capacity will be rounded down (e.g. 2023 The Institution of Engineering and Technology. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Our IFA2 interconnector continues to operate as normal at full capacity. Because the first installation did not meet increasing requirements, it was replaced in 19751986 by a new HVDC system with a maximum transmission rating of 2,000MW between France and the United Kingdom, for which two new converter stations were built in Sellindge, between Ashford and Folkestone in Kent, England and in Bonningues-ls-Calais (Les Mandarins station), near Calais, France. A fire occurred in the early hours of Wednesday 15th September 2021 at our UK Sellindge site resulting in the cables capacity being redu. "Our investigation is ongoing and we will update the market with any changes as necessary," a National Grid spokesperson said via email. To learn more about what cookies we use and how to change your preferences please check our cookie policy. energy markets rocketed to all-time highs, the risk of power cuts to factories and homes this winter had increased, hundreds of thousands of homes into fuel poverty for the first time. UK homes and businesses face some of the highest energy bills on record because of the global dash for gas, which has led to soaring market prices. The outage comes at a time when UK baseload power prices are at record highs due to soaring gas prices, high carbon prices, tight supply and other maintenance outages. We will bring 500MW back to service from October 2022 through to May 2023.. We expect the full 2000MW of IFA capacity to be available for Winter 22/23. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This scheme was equipped with mercury-arc valves, each having four anodes in parallel.[5]. 10 czerwca 2022 On Wednesday, National Grid said the fire would mean 1 gigawatts, or half of capacity, would remain offline until 27 March 2022. read more. A fire occurred in the early hours of Wednesday 15th September 2021 atour UK Sellindge site resulting in the cables capacity being reduced to 0MW. We are completely focused on getting IFA safely returned to service as soon as possible and ensuring we are able to support security of supply, the company said in a statement. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. [17], Sellindge Converter Station on the UK side of the interconnector, Cross-Channel ( old) - Echingen Converter Station, Cross-Channel ( old) - Lydd Converter Station, Cross-Channel ( new) - Les Mandarins Converter Station, Cross-Channel ( new) - Sellindge Converter Station. We sell the capacity to energy traders and provide services to transmission system operators in the UK and France. IFA2, National Grid's second electricity interconnector linking the UK and France, is now able to flow . [9], This system remains the world's largest-capacity submarine cable HVDC system. We will then undertake further work in order to bring the full 2000MW back by October 2023. The operators annual winter outlook report said the UK had enough capacity to avoid blackouts affecting households and factories but tight supplies were likely to keep market prices at near record levels throughout the winter. The cable was built by ABB. "The fire at the IFA site essentially means the loss of 2 gigawatts (GW) of interconnection capacity between the UK and France which further tightens the supply situation in the UK," said Roy. tim petrovic career earnings ifa interconnector fire cause. All Rights Reserved. [13][14] National Grid initially announced that half of the link capacity would be restored within a fortnight, with full capacity being restored in March 2022. Critics say it's not enough. We currently have a sufficient buffer of spare capacity to operate the electricity system securely over this evenings peak demand period, he said in an email. The IFA Interconnector that meets the UK in Sellindge can carry about 2GW between the two countries but the National Grid said a fire has forced a complete evacuation of the site. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. To maintain grid frequency and power, the National Grid has a variety of frequency response assets, of which market batteries are the first to respond. National Grid said the fire prompted the evacuation of its IFA1 interconnector site in Sellindge in Kent. A spokesperson for National Grid confirmed the incident, stating: "The site has been evacuated and the safety of our staff, emergency teams and local residents is our highest priority." Unlike most HVDC schemes, where the two converter stations are built by the same manufacturer, the two converter stations of the 2,000MW scheme were built by different manufacturers (although both have subsequently become part of the same parent company, Alstom). In accordance with the IFA Access Rules (Part 3 Long Term Allocation Rules, Chapter 9 Curtailment P135) capacity will be curtailed in line with capacity available. A major fire impacted the GB side of the interconnector, with 12 fire engines on-site to deal with the blaze. On the other side, France has now got a net extra 2GW of available supply so this should help prices on the continent.. Following the incident, it was forced to notify the wholesale electricity market that 1000MW would be unavailable until 27 March 2022 as a result. [2] The 204-kilometre (127 mi) high voltage DC (HVDC) cable operates at +/-320kV with the capacity to transmit 1,000 MW of power. The maximum transmission power of this cable was 160megawatts (MW). The FTSE 100 energy company hopes to bring another 500MW of capacity back to service between October 2022 and May 2023, meaning the cable will be running at three-quarters of its capacity through that winter. It was completed in 1986, and replaced the first cross-Channel link which was a 160MW link completed in 1961 and decommissioned in 1984. read more. The blaze at the Sellindge converter station in Kent forced a shutdown of the high-voltage cable that brings electricity from France to the UK last month as energy markets rocketed to all-time highs amid global energy supply difficulties. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. The IFA Interconnector that meets the UK in Sellindge can carry about 2GW between the two countries but the National Grid said a fire has forced a complete evacuation of the site. The IFA2 interconnector, a second link between Britain and France commissioned in 2020, is operating at full capacity. Following the incident, many analysts warned that the loss of 2GW of import to Britains grid could spark furtherenergy price rises. Customers total rights are added together and then the reduction is applied. We are completely focused on getting IFA safely returned to service as soon as possible and we are in discussions with the UK ESO and our European partners to ensure we optimise upcoming planned pre-winter outages of our other interconnectors to support UK security of supply. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England & Wales (no 211014) and Scotland (no SC038698).