Interconnectors
Gas interconnectors
Gas interconnectors connect gas transmission systems from other countries to the National Transmission System (NTS) in England, Scotland and Wales.
There are currently three gas interconnectors which connect to the NTS. These are:
- IUK interconnector to Belgium
- Balgzand to Bacton Line (BBL) to the Netherlands
- Moffat to the Republic of Ireland interconnector
We regulate the activities of the gas interconnector owners and operators through standard gas interconnector licence conditions to ensure that gas is transported competitively to the NTS and that secure energy supplies are maintained.
You can see relevant decisions and other Gas Interconnector Licence documents in the following dedicated sections:
Electricity interconnectors
Great Britain’s electricity market currently has 9.8GW of electricity interconnector capacity:
- 4GW to France (IFA, IFA2 and ElecLink)
- 1GW to the Netherlands (BritNed)
- 1GW to Belgium (Nemo Link)
- 500MW to Northern Ireland (Moyle)
- 500MW to the Republic of Ireland (East West)
- 1.4GW to Norway (NSL)
- 1.4GW to Denmark (Viking Link)
Under the current regulatory framework, there are two general routes for interconnector investment:
- A regulated route under our 'cap and floor' regime. This allows developers to identify, propose and build interconnectors, subject to Ofgem approval.
A cap and floor mechanism regulates how much money a developer can earn once in operation, providing developers with a minimum return (floor) and a limit on the potential upside (cap) for a 25-year period.
- As an alternative to the cap and floor model, developers can seek exemptions from regulatory requirements. Under this route developers would face the full upside and downside of the investment and would usually apply for an exemption from certain regulatory requirements to better enable the business case of their investment.
Interconnectors make money in the wholesale market from congestion revenues. Congestion revenues are dependent on the existence of price differences between markets at either end of the interconnector.
All interconnection capacity is allocated to the market via market-based methods, i.e. auctions, and the trading arrangements on electricity interconnectors are governed by Access Rules and Charging Methodologies as noted in each interconnector’s licence.
With the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation agreement in place, new trading arrangements are currently being developed to facilitate more efficient cross border trading for all relevant parties.
You can see relevant decisions and other Electricity Interconnector Licence documents in the following dedicated sections:
Existing and future interconnector projects
Below is a list of existing and future electricity interconnectors with GB regulatory approval. This doesn’t include a pipeline of planned interconnectors that are under development but that we have not yet assessed.
As with other major infrastructure projects, future interconnectors face a range of challenges that can impact on timing of delivery. The estimated delivery dates shown below reflects our understanding in June 2021 of developers’ plans.