France threatens to cut electricity supply to Jersey in fishing row

France could cut electricity supply to UK Channel Island Jersey unless a post-Brexit fishing agreement is respected, Maritime Minister Annick Girardin told the French parliament May 4.

Imports from French state utility EDF accounted for 95% of Jersey's electricity needs in 2019 of 614 GWh.

Girardin said France was "ready to use . . . retaliatory measures" under the UK-EU post-Brexit trade deal if the UK continued to apply new rules without informing the European Union.

In a statement to the AFP news agency, the French fisheries ministry said the UK had introduced "new technical measures" linked to licenses for vessels fishing off the Channel Islands which had not been communicated to the EU and were therefore "null and void."

On April 30 the Jersey government granted 41 permits to French fishing vessels equipped with technology that allowed them to be located. Jersey has the sole power to issue the licenses.

Three subsea power interconnectors give the Channel Islands access to 245 MW of imported power, which Jersey shares with Guernsey as partners in the Channel Islands Electricity Grid. Jersey has access to 202 MW.

The remaining 5% of supplies (33 GWh) that Jersey did not import from France in 2019 came from a government-run energy from waste plant on the island. Peak demand of 141 MW was recorded on Dec. 4 2019, below March 2018's record 178 MW.

On-island generation at La Collette, from diesel engines and gas turbines, along with gas turbines at Queen's Road, are in place to support security of supply, Jersey Electricity Company said.

"Be assured that the JEC has local on island generating capacity which can be utilized at very short notice," a company spokeswoman told S&P Global Platts.

UK imports

The wider context is a similar threat in future to French power flows to the UK.

The UK has two large interconnectors to France, IFA1 and IFA2, providing a total 3 GW of capacity between the two countries. A third link, ElecLink, is being built through the Channel Tunnel. The 1 GW cable is due to enter operation next year.

Total net imports of electricity to the UK amounted to 17.9 TWh in 2020, down 15% year on year. This figure, which includes power flows from Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland as well as France, represented 6.3% of final UK consumption.

While annual dependence on imports is low, the UK has relied heavily on French imports during winter peak periods when the wind is not blowing and temperatures fall.

GB net imports from the Continent are forecast by S&P Global Platts Analytics at 3.8 GW in May and June, "which corresponds to a high utilization rate of available interconnector capacity," it said April 22.

"French nuclear availability is expected to rise through May, supporting GB imports, but additional delays [to the return of BritNed and IFA2] pose risk to our view," it said.