Positive
Project advancing - milestone achieved
High Impact
Major milestone or critical setback
On 12 July 2023 the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (Ofgem) granted an electricity interconnector licence under section 6(1)(e) of the Electricity Act 1989 to National Grid Nautilus Limited (company number 14721275, registered office 1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5EH). The grant was issued under section 6A(5) of the Act and authorises National Grid Nautilus Limited to participate in the operation of the Nautilus electricity interconnector between the NGET 400kV Grain West substation in Great Britain (Ordnance Survey grid reference TQ877765) and an offshore grid connection into Elia's MOG2 (Princess Elisabeth Island) energy island in Belgium. The grant was formally notified by Ofgem on 14 July 2023 under reference signed by Carmel Golden. The notice explicitly states that the licence authorises the holder to operate the interconnector, but does not in itself authorise either the construction of the interconnector (which remains subject to separate planning processes and DCO consenting) or operation under any specific revenue regime such as the cap-and-floor regime or merchant-exempt route. A separate later application for a further interconnector licence was published by Ofgem on 6 August 2024.