U.K. Regulator Rejects SSE's GBP1.33 Billion Proposals for Transmission Links

By Adria Calatayud

The U.K. energy regulator said Wednesday that it has rejected SSE PLC's (SSE.LN) 1.33 billion-pound ($1.72 billion) proposals for Shetland and Western Isles transmission links to mainland Scotland.

Ofgem said it encouraged Scottish and Southern Energy Networks, a subsidiary of the FTSE 100 energy company, to submit revised proposals which provide greater certainty on the future of wind farms that support the need for these links. The company's current proposals failed to meet conditions for approval, Ofgem said.

The regulator said it was unable to approve SSEN's plan to build a 600 megawatt subsea electricity transmission link to mainland Scotland from Shetland as the project was based on a wind farm securing subsidies from the U.K. government. The wind farm failed to get those subsidies in last month's auction, Ofgem said.

In March, Ofgem said it was minded to approve the estimated GBP709 million link.

For the Western Isles, Ofgem said it was unable to give green light to SSEN's proposal to build a 600 megawatt transmission, GBP623 million link to connect them to mainland Scotland. Only one of the two wind-farm projects that supported the link received subsidies from the U.K. government.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2019 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT)

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