IFA2

IFA2 is a 1,000 MW high voltage direct current (HVDC) electrical interconnector between the British and French transmission systems. It is the second link to France that National Grid has developed with RTE.

As per the REMIT notice found here, we are pleased to announce that commissioning of the IFA2 Interconnector successfully concluded on 21st January 2021.

Details of the IFA2 Intraday schedule, which gives market parties the opportunity for the first time on the FR-GB border to nominate capacity via 24 hourly nomination gates can be found here along with the details of the Long-Term auctions and Explicit Day Ahead here.  

In addition to this, we can confirm the IFA2 overall Loss Factor is 2.950%, therefore the IFA2 Mid-Channel Loss Factor is 1.475%.
A summary of this can be found here.

To view live flows of IFA2, please click here.

If you would like to register your interest to trade on IFA2, please email the team on: 

[email protected]

As we are approaching the energisation of IFA2, we thought it best to clarify some of your requirements to be able to trade on this interconnector.
Firstly, each customer is required to be a Balance Responsible Party (BRP) with Rte. Please note, for those who have previously obtained this for trading on IFA, a new BRP will NOT be required.

Secondly, each customer needs to register Balancing Mechanism Units (BMUs) for IFA2 with both NGESO and Elexon. Unlike the BRP, if you wish to nominate your capacity on both IFA & IFA2, you are required to register an Interconnector BMU for each interconnector.

To register for a BMU, you should follow the below process:

1. National Grid ESO

As an Interconnector Use Lead Party, you will firstly need to complete the National Grid BM Unit Registration (contact [email protected]).

National Grid ESO will provide you with the BM Unit ID which you should then include on the BSCP15/4.1 form to be submitted to Elexon.
In addition, the BM Unit ID in column 1 of the BSCP15/4.1 form is based on the ID’s supplied by NGESO. When entering these onto the BSCP15/4.1 form, simply add an I_ in front, e.g. I_IFDxxxx1 & I_IFG-xxxx1.

2. Elexon

Once you have completed the above step with NGESO, you can then register a pair of Interconnector BM Units by completing a BSCP15/4.1 form “Registration of a BM Unit for a CVA Metering System”, and submitting to [email protected] and [email protected]. The Interconnector ID is also required on the BSCP15/4.1 form.

Please note, the current Effective From Date is 03/08/20.

If you need any further assistance on registration on BMUs or other parts of the registration process, please click here or email us at [email protected].

As noted above, live power flows are taking place as part of our testing and commissioning process.
To see the latest information and up to date flow profiles, please follow the below steps.

1. Click on the link - https://www.bmreports.com/bmrs/?q=remit 

2. Use the options at the top of the page to filter results for the relevant time frame.

3. Once you have selected the time frame that you'd like to view, click on "More Filters" (highlighted in red in Image 1) and type “NGIFA2” into the Participant ID section. Once this is complete, select "Filter Messages" (highlighted yellow in Image 2).

4. You can use the filter for “Latest Revision” to make sure that you are viewing the latest message, as these are frequently revised, and then choose the relevant date from the “Event Start” column.

Image 1

Image 2

Please note, test profiles may change closer to real-time depending on commissioning requirements, in this circumstance the REMIT message will be updated as soon as the information becomes firm and before any market trades are executed as a result of the revised plan.