Red Eléctrica de España and its Moroccan counterpart Office National De L'electricite Et De L'eau Potable (ONEE) have completed the works to seal the link in the reserve cable (cable no. 4) of the link between Spain and Morocco.

The leak was as a result of an incident that occurred in Moroccan waters 21.6 km off the coast of Spain at a depth of 208 metres. This information was immediately communicated on 31 July to the Spanish maritime authorities and all the authorities and groups concerned. From the outset, Red Eléctrica mobilised all the necessary technical and human resources, above all, taking into account that the depth at which the damage was found made its repair particularly complex.

After a brief interruption of just a few hours in the use of the link during the works to seal the leak, which was necessary for safety reasons, the two circuits that make up the interconnection between the two countries were brought back into service following the completion of the repair works. Nevertheless, the security of the electricity supply through the interconnection was not compromised at any time thanks to its double circuit and the fact that the cable affected (the reserve cable) was not in service. Furthermore, once the repairs were completed, the alert status (Phase 0) of the Interior Maritime Plan was deactivated.

The electricity interconnection between Spain and Morocco is made up of two 400 kV lines, one commissioned in 1997 and the other in 2006, comprising in turn a total of seven cables: three per circuit, plus one reserve cable. The seven cables, which cross the Strait of Gibraltar, run from the terminal station of Tarifa, at the Spanish end, to the terminal station of Fardioua, at the Moroccan end.