National Grid (LSE:NG.) plc announced that a fire at Kent plant has halted some electricity supply between France and the UK until next month.
Some 1,000 megawatts will be unavailable until 13 October, on top of the 1,000 megawatts unavailable until 17 September due to a planned outage.
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“Emergency services are in attendance. The site has been evacuated and the safety of our staff, emergency teams and local residents is our highest priority,” the group said.
The IFA interconnector site is out of service but the IFA2 interconnector is operating as normal at full capacity.
Brokerage group Delta Energy said that most energy suppliers have suspended trading for the time being.
The incident is adding further pressure on an already squeezed market in the UK, struggling to get supply from abroad and to generate power locally.
Power prices rocketed even further following the fire, while the lack of zero-carbon nuclear energy coming from France is likely to boost gas and coal use.
UK gas futures jumped almost 12% to a record 184.6p per therm, The Telegraph reported, from highs of 100p per therm on Tuesday morning, according to Refinitiv data.
???????? BREAKING ???????? UK natural gas wholesale prices are ***jumping ~20% today*** to fresh record high as trades brace for more UK gas-fired power station demand after the loss of a key electricity interconnector between UK and France (among other issues) pic.twitter.com/jMpuC9g1S3
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) September 15, 2021
As of Wednesday afternoon, half of the UK’s electricity was powered by fossil fuels, with 20% coming from renewables and 14% from nuclear.
Shares in National Grid (LSE:NG.) dipped 1% to 957.9p before close.