Europe’s Agency for the Co-operation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has decided that Aquind, a planned interconnector between France and GB, should not be allowed exemptions from some regulatory provisions, arguing that the project is low-risk.

The project sought exemptions from  provisions on the use of congestion revenues, on unbundling, on third party access and on terms and conditions for connection and access, including tariffs.
But ACER said they would only be granted if the level of risk was “such that the project would not be realised unless an exemption were granted”. In fact, the project was recently granted the status of an EU ‘Project of Common Interest’ (PCI). Such projects get support from the bloc, and ACER noted that the project promoter could now submit an investment request to regulators including a request for cross-border cost allocation, that allow it to recover its costs via regulated tariffs.
The option of a regulated route is even more likely, ACER said, because the Agency’s recent analysis  had concluded that the three new projects under development on that border – Aquind, FAB Link, and GridLink (with a total capacity of 4.8 GW) – appear be socially beneficial even once two new interconnectors, ElecLink and IFA2, are in operation.
ACER also dismissed other risks claimed by Aquind, such technological, construction, operation, policy, and macroeconomic risks.