Initially these were air-cooled and used analogue control systems, and in 2011 and 2012 respectively, the thyristor valves of Bipole 1 and Bipole 2 were replaced by modern water-cooled thyristor valves and digital control systems supplied by Alstom. I have LT capacity rights, will I be curtailed? Following record high power prices earlier this week, a fire at the IFA1 interconnector in Kent could cause power prices to rise further. 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 Manuell, EU power and carbon analyst at ICIS Energy. 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. While the extent of the damage is yet to be fully realised, it is likely to delay IFA1s return to full capacity at a time where it is desperately needed. 1 GW of capacity to remain offline until March 2022, Day-ahead British power prices jump almost 19%. 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. until 13 October as a result. [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. A fire occurred in the early hours of Wednesday 15th September 2021 atour UK Sellindge site resulting in the cables capacity being redu Read More. "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. January 25, 2021, by Adis Ajdin. National Grid said the fire prompted the evacuation of its IFA1 interconnector site in Sellindge in Kent. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Future auctions will be adjusted where necessary. However, National Grid said that it has been able to reduce the outage time of 1,000MW of capacity at the IFA interconnector so that it will come back to service three days ahead of its previously published plan: We are completely focused on getting IFA safely returned to service as soon as possible and ensuring we are able to support the security of supply.. 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. A key substation at Kent was left damaged by a fire. "We are completely focused on getting IFA safely returned to service as soon as possible," the grid said in an update on its website. The IFA interconnector has two Bipoles, each with a capacity of 1,000MW. IFA2, National Grid's second electricity interconnector linking the UK and France, is now able to flow . Tomorrow a forecast tight market will become really tight; expect even higher prices in the spot markets going forward. The IFA interconnector is currently out of service following a fire at our site in Sellindge. National Grid has four operational interconnectors two to France (IFA and IFA2), one to the Netherlands (BritNed) and one to Belgium (Nemo Link). Although each station includes an earth electrode, this is used only to provide a neutral reference, and only one of the two electrodes is connected at a given time so that there can be no current flow between them. Cables are laid in pairs in four trenches so that the magnetic fields generated by the two conductors are largely cancelled. This compares with an average in August of 106.83, and an average across 2020 of 35.26. This is in addition to the 1000MW that is unavailable until Friday 17 September due to a planned outage. 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. Finland will allow transgender people to change their legal gender at their own request and without undergoing sterilisation, new legislation signed by the Finnish President confirmed on Friday. This is in addition to the 1000MW that is unavailable until Friday 17 September due to a planned outage. The IFA2 interconnector, a second link between Britain and France commissioned in 2020, is operating and not affected. National Grid expects that the French IFA interconnector will restart full operations by December next year. Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Ipswich and Ilchester. [15][16] On 15 October 2021, National Grid announced that half of the link capacity would be restored within the next few days, that 75% capacity would be available between October 2022 and May 2023, and that they hoped to restore full capacity by October 2023.[3]. We expect the full 2000MW of IFA capacity to be available for Winter 22/23. VAT No: 988 8336 42. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo. This is in addition to another planned 1000MW outage until 25 September that has caused electricity prices to soar. Which countries in the EU are buying the most electric cars? Capacity Rights Reduced By Approximately: When will I see my revised capacity rights on JAO? "The site has been evacuated and the safety of our staff, emergency teams and local residents is our . "There has been a fire at our IFA interconnector site in Sellindge and emergency services are in attendance," the National Grid stated. Data from energy market analyst EnAppSys shows that in the year to date, overall average power prices have been more than double the average price in 2019-2020 and in the last two weeks daily average prices have been eight times the average in 2019. Smart navigation app uses 3D sound to guide blind people. National Grid had a projected derated margin of 4.3GW in its early winter outlook report; this looks like it may have just almost halved. The HVDC Cross-Channel (French: Interconnexion France Angleterre IFA 2000) is the 73 km long high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector that operates since 1986 under the English Channel between the continental European grid at Bonningues-ls-Calais and the British electricity grid at Sellindge. The IFA2 interconnector, a second link between Britain and France commissioned in 2020, is operating and not affected. 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. To give you the best experience, we ask that you enable cookies. We have notified the market that 1000MW. 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). Following the incident, many analysts warned that the loss of 2GW of import to . [10], In November 2016, during Storm Angus, a ship dragging an anchor cut four of the eight cable components, reducing capacity by 50%. 15.99MW would result in 15 MWs after the curtailment). Enabling cookies permits us to gather information about which categories and articles are the most interesting to our readers. Customers who hold LT capacity rights can view there post curtailment allocation rights at D-2 on the JAO Platform. Our IFA2 interconnector continues to operate as normal at full capacity. We have notified the market that 1000MW is unavailable until 13 October as a result. 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 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. Following an initial review, we have updated the market that 1000MW is unavailable until 27 March 2022. All Rights Reserved. read more. National Grid has four operational interconnectors - two to France (IFA and IFA2), one to the Netherlands (BritNed) and one to Belgium (Nemo Link). It was completed in 1986, and replaced the first cross-Channel link which was a 160MW link completed in 1961 and decommissioned in 1984. 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. Sept 16 (Reuters) - Britain's National Grid said a fire at its IFA interconnector site in Sellindge in Kent, part of the connector that links the French and British power grids, was extinguished on Thursday. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. To learn more about what cookies we use and how to change your preferences please check our cookie policy. The IFA2 interconnector, a second link between Britain and France commissioned in 2020, is operating at full capacity. Sign up to the E&T News e-mail to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day. 2023 The Institution of Engineering and Technology. The equipment occasionally faults, causing capacity to drop: in a bad year, this might happen several times. 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. FILE PHOTO: Migrating starlings fly at dusk past electricity pylons silhouetted by the sunset of a clear autumn evening in the Kent countryside, in Graveney, Britain. "We are in discussions with the UK electricity system operator (ESO) and our European partners to ensure we optimise upcoming planned pre-winter outages of our other interconnectors to support UK security of supply," it said. We wish to update you on the major incident that occurred at IFA yesterday. Whilst repairs were undertaken there was considerable down time on the circuit resulting in a loss of trading. In accordance with the IFA Access Rules (Part 3 Long Term Allocation Rules, Chapter 9, Curtailment P139) holders of curtailed Long Term Transmission Rights shall be entitled to receive reimbursement per hour equal to: a) the Marginal Price of the initial auction; multiplied by; b) the volume in MW per hour corresponding to the difference between the Long Term Transmission rights held by the Registered Participant before and after the curtailment. Thankfully no one was injured and the emergency services got the fire under . IFA1 is a 2,000 MW interconnector that links Great Britain and France, and while it has recently been at half capacity, it was set to return to full capacity this weekend, before tragedy struck. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Since the commissioning of the 2,000MW DC link in the 1980s, the bulk of power flow through the link has been from France to Britain. 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 fire occurred in the early hours of Wednesday 15th September 2021 at our UK Sellindge site resulting in the cables capacity being reduced to 0MW. 10 czerwca 2022 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. We have extended the outage on the other 1000MW, which was offline due to a planned outage, until 25 September. The connector had been importing electricity from France in recent days as the UKs wholesale prices continued to rise. By; June 14, 2022 ; carnival cruise cancellations 2022 . Big Zero Report 2022. A key substation at Kent was left damaged by a fire in September.It forced the shutdown of one of the most important power cables, which brings electricity from France to the UK.. Curtailment is Pro Rata and therefore where curtailment is required, customers capacity will be reduced in line with the curtailment required. 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. Wholesale electricity prices have soared after a fire at an interconnector linking the French and British power networks, the National Grid has reported. 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. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. It added: Our investigation is ongoing and we will update the market with any changes as necessary.. Book your FREE ticket to the Big Zero Show 2023 now. The shock shutdown of the subsea cable sparked concern among industry experts over Britains energy supplies during record high market prices across Europe. 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. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. [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.