The French and Spanish regulatory authorities, respectively CRE (Commission de Régulation de l'Énergie) and CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia) concluded an agreement for the financing of the "Golfe de Gascogne" (Bay of Biscay) electrical interconnection project. The CNMC and CRE agreed on the cost allocation between the two countries and support the grant application from the Spanish and French network operators (TSOs), namely Red Eléctrica de España (REE) and Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE) for up to 40% of the project cost (around €700m).
The Bay of Biscay interconnection line was recognized as a Project of Common Interest by the European Commission in 2013 and 2015 and is therefore eligible for financial support from the European Union. The power line project linking Gatica (Spain) to Cubnezais (France) represents an investment of €1.75bn. Carried out by REE and RTE, the construction is expected to be completed by 2025. This new line will almost double the interconnection capacity between Spain and France which will increase from 2.8 GW to 5 GW.