New electricity cable hopes suffer huge blow as Ofgem rule out funding

October 18, 2019 at 10:45 am

Funding for a replacement cable between Thurso and Rackwick has been ruled out by Ofgem.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) say they remain committed to meeting Orkney’s electricity needs despite Ofgem ruling out funding for a £30 million replacement subsea distribution cable.

SSEN say they are “extremely disappointed” by the decision as they sought to replace the Pentland Firth East cable which has reached the end of its operational life.

Despite acknowledging the requirement to replace the cable — one of two which supply Orkney with electricity from the Scottish Mainland — Ofgem say SSEN has not demonstrated that the proposed cable replacement is an “economic and efficient solution”.

Emergency repairs have been necessary to keep the fault-ridden cable live in recent times which runs between Thurso and Rackwick Bay in Hoy.

During times when the cable failed, the Pentland Firth West cable and on-island generation, including back-up power supply from Kirkwall Power Station had to be used.

This meant that Orkney, a group of islands famed for its level of renewable electrical generation, was, partly at least, being powered by diesel run generators.

SSEN will now urgently review the decision and explore their options as they seek to keep the project, which set out to have the cable installed in spring 2020, on track.