BritNed, a 1GW interconnector linking GB with the Netherlands, is out of action. The cable was said by its owner to have experienced an unplanned outage starting at 6.36 Central European Time on 9 March. The company added, “Current indications are that this outage is due to a cable fault and investigations are ongoing to establish the location of the fault”.

Itwas initially suggested the cable could be back in service by Thursday, but that has now been put back by more than a month.  BritNed has communicated a return to service date of 22 April, in accordance with REMIT requirements.

The outage comes just a month after BritNed returned to service after a previous cable fault. It stopped operating on 8 December and returned to full service on 11 February.

Further reading

Longread: take a deep dive into offshore cable risks

High constraint cost expected to last until end March while Western Link remains out of action

Western Link failings prompt Ofgem investigation

BritNed consults on access rules in the event of no-deal Brexit: intraday trades affected

From the archive: OFTO performance examined

Ofgem gives the nod to Shetland link, aims to reduce costs with ‘competition proxy’