France-UK electrical interconnector suspended until June 2, Channel tunnel operator says (updated)
19/05/2025 07:17
Adds details on current and previous outages in paragraphs 3-6 May 19 (Reuters) - The electrical interconnector between France and Britain, ElecLink, will be suspended for two weeks until June 2 due to a slight misalignment of the cable, Channel tunnel operator Getlink GETP.PA said on Monday. The issue was detected in a limited area outside the tunnel in Britain, Getlink said in a statement, estimating the commercial impact of the suspension would be around 20 million euros ($22.4 million). Operations at ElecLink, an underwater cable ensuring 1 gigawatt of electric capacity through the tunnel since 2022, had already been shut down last year after a fault was found in September. The interconnector was brought back into service in February. The current suspension has been implemented as a "precautionary measure" to carry out all necessary inspections and tests, Getlink said. It had signalled a 69% year-on-year drop in quarterly revenue for ElecLink in April, owing to the five-month suspension of activity and the normalisation of energy markets. ($1 = 0.8945 euros) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak) ((gianluca.lonostro@thomsonreuters.com;))