Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on energy (a) prices and (b) capacity of the damage done to the electricity interconnector between France and the UK during Storm Angus.

Interconnectors, as with all electricity infrastructure, may occasionally be unavailable because of the need for repairs and maintenance. However, electricity supplies are secure this winter. In forecasting capacity margins, National Grid allows for unplanned outages – such as this one – in their planning. National Grid has a variety of tools to manage the system and ensure supplies, including 3.5GW of balancing reserve.

We have not assessed how the damage sustained by the IFA (Interconnexion France-Angleterre) on 20 November will affect the wholesale electricity price, given the various other factors that contribute to wholesale costs, not least the expected direction of flow through IFA this winter.