LIST
EUROPEAN INTERCONNECTOR PLANS PUT AT RISK
Experts have long predicted a UK energy shortfall in the 2020s as coal power stations close and oil and gas output falls into decline . In response , the country has planned to install new interconnectors with Denmark , France , Norway and Belgium to import as much as 14GW of additional capacity .
In light of Brexit , leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has warned that “ the relevant regulatory framework for interconnectors in the EU will fall away for UK interconnectors .” However , if Britain remains part of the EU ’ s Internal Energy Market ( IEM ), the commercial case for interconnectors may only suffer minimally , if at all . A spokesperson for the National
Grid said : “ The IEM ensures the efficient flow of secure , sustainable and affordable electricity to the UK and enables the export of excess energy to mainland Europe .”
A report issued by London-based consultancy Vivid Economics prior to the referendum said that leaving the IEM means “ undermining the business case for further investment in interconnection between the UK and its neighbours .”
Even if pre-Brexit interconnector installations go ahead as planned , the cheaper electricity the projects would have provided will still be in jeopardy because the Pound may weaken against the Euro .
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24 August 2016