East West Interconnector

EirGrid Interconnector DAC owns the East West Interconnector which links the electricity grids of the island of Ireland and Great Britain via submarine cables running between converter stations in Ireland and Wales. It is a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connection capable of providing capacity of 500 MW, flowing in both directions (import / export).

We allocate long-term (or ‘forward’) transmission rights in the form of Financial Transmission Right Options (FTRs) on the East West Interconnector through auctions, which you can learn more about below.

Celtic Interconnector

More information can be found here.

The Trade & Cooperation Arrangement (TCA) between the United Kingdom and the European Union sets out proposed trading arrangements to replace the UK’s membership of the Single Day Ahead Coupling (SDAC) market. Annex ENER-4 of the TCA sets out the broad requirement for this new market design, known as Loose Volume Coupling (LVC). Under LVC, the volume and flow of interconnectors between the UK and EU bidding zones directly connected to the UK are determined independently from the pan-EU SDAC market process.

As set out in the TCA, a first step in the development of the LVC solution is the delivery of a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). Relevant UK and EU TSOs have worked together with their consultancy partners (CEPA) to publish this first stage deliverable which can be found at the link below.

EIDAC would like to invite wider stakeholder feedback from across the industry on the published CBA report and the supporting presentation. While the TCA sets out a formal consultation period for the development of technical procedures at a later stage, general industry feedback on the broad design of LVC as set out in the report and presentation is a key first step in the progression of the solution.

Please provide your feedback to EastWestInterconnector@Eirgrid.com or directly to any of the UK Interconnectors:

• BritNed Development Limited
• ElecLink Limited
• Moyle Interconnector Limited
• National Grid Ventures (representing IFA, IFA2 and NSL)
• Nemo Link Limited

Industry feedback sessions are planned as follows:​

• Thursday 29 April 2021: SEM - All Island Industry Forum
• Tuesday 11 May 2021: UK – EFET-Energy UK TCA Forum
• Tuesday 11 May 2021: UK – Joint European Stakeholder Group

Please contact us or any of the UK Interconnectors if you would like feedback to be shared with any other industry group not listed here.

Please click here for the CBA and here for the associated documentation.

As part of new wholesale electricity market arrangements for Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) arrangements, the interconnector allocates long-term (or ‘forward’) transmission rights in the form of Financial Transmission Right Options (FTRs).

An FTR Option is a hedging instrument that entitles the holder to receive payments based on the day-ahead price spread between two interconnected and coupled markets.

FTRs on EWIC are allocated in auctions facilitated by the Joint Allocation Office (JAO), a Luxembourg based entity established for the purpose of auctioning capacity on most interconnectors throughout Europe.

EWIC have prepared an I-SEM Trading Guide for customers on the FTR products being offered under the I-SEM. This Trading Pack seeks to provide interested parties with the necessary information to allow them to participate in auctions of FTRs on EWIC.

JAO will be the single point of contact for the FTR market—handling registration, systems, auctions, and settlement. Parties wishing to participate in auctions of EWIC FTRs will contract directly with JAO.

All relevant information for JAO registration can be found on the JAO Resource Centre.

JAO Auction Platform – Electronic Capacity Allocation Tool (e-CAT)

FTR auctions are held using the e-CAT on the JAO platform. You can access the EWIC Auction Calendar 2020 here.

Auction rules

FTR auctions will be conducted in line with Harmonised Allocation Rules for long-term transmission rights (“HAR”) 5 and the SEM-GB border specific annex (“Regional Annex”) 6.

Prior to I-SEM go-live EWIC sold a form of physical transmission rights between the SEM and GB markets on the Auction Management Platform, which can be accessed here.

Outage Information

Forced Outages 

In the event of a forced outage of the East West Interconnector, the Allocation Platform shall notify the affected holders of Long Term Transmission Rights as soon as possible of a curtailment of Long Term Transmission Rights as per Article 57 of the HAR “Process and notification of curtailment”.

Planned Outages

Planned outages of the East West Interconnector are coordinated between EirGrid Interconnector DAC, EirGrid Plc. and National Grid Electricity Transmission. 

A list of the planned outages which are currently scheduled is available here.

Below, you will find all key documentation relating to the East West Interconnector.

Licences:

EIDAC Electricity Interconnector Operator Licence (Ofgem)

EIDAC Electricity Interconnector Operator Licence (CRU)

Access Arrangements:

EU Harmonised Allocation Rules

EWIC Access Rules V 5.0

EWIC Access Rule V4.1 

EWIC Charging Methodology V3.0

Approvals:

HAR Rules Approval – CRU

HAR Rules Approval – Ofgem

HAR Rules Approval – ACER

CER Access Rules Approval

EWIC Access Rules & Charging Methodology Approval – Ofgem Access Rules Approval

Single Allocation Platform (SAP) methodology and the SAP Cost Sharing methodology decision – Ofgem Decision, 13th October 2017

Single Allocation Platform (SAP) methodology and the SAP Cost Sharing methodology decision – CRU Decision, 25 October 2017

Interconnector User Forum:

East West and Moyle Interconnector Customer Conference 2018

Asset Management Policy:

EWIC Asset Management Policy

Safety is core to how EirGrid does business. To determine if your proposed works may be close to the route of the interconnector, please consult our safety notice and refer to the following links:

• ROI B-4-U-DIG

• UK Line Search Before-U-Dig

If you need any additional information, call (01) 2370924 (Ireland) or 01244 288 353 (UK).

The Heath and Safety Authority have published a Code of Practice (CoP) on avoiding danger from underground services. The CoP provides practical guidelines to ensure compliance with legal requirements. It is available online here.

In the event of an emergency relating to the East West Interconnector cables, EirGrid will be contacted immediately. The emergency contact number is 01 2370924.

A detailed Irish Route Map is available here.

A detailed Wales Route Map is available here.

Find out more here.