Regulatory Other

On 11 February 2026, the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) and Ofgem published their updated joint statement on the opportunity for further electricity interconnection capacity between France and the United Kingdom, following the precursor February 2025 statement. The National Regulatory Authorities concluded that, at this stage, the conditions are not met for either regulator to grant regulatory approval for any new GB-FR interconnector, including GridLink. Instead, CRE and Ofgem committed to conducting a joint in-depth study to explore the need for new interconnection projects and potential cost-sharing mechanisms between the two countries, with the analysis expected to start within the next two years. The regulators cited supply chain cost increases for HVDC cables and converters, national network reinforcement needs, and ongoing energy system planning reform in Great Britain as factors influencing the timing of their analysis. The publication had been signalled in updates on 31 October 2025 and 3 December 2025 before the final 11 February 2026 release. For GridLink Interconnector Limited, the joint statement effectively defers any GB cap-and-floor or CRE investment approval decision pending completion of the joint study, materially pushing back the project's earliest credible regulatory approval, FID, building permit and commercial operations milestones.