Energy bills for UK homes are set to soar after a fire at a power facility in Kent sent gas prices soaring to record highs.
National Grid has warned that the cable will remain totally offline until September 25 while while it is expected to remain at partly offline until March, raising fears over tight supplies in the coming months.
Natural gas rose by as much as 18 per cent to 189p per therm after the blaze at the interconnector, which links the British and French power grids.
Meanwhile, British electricity prices jumped by 19 per cent to £475 per megawatt hour (MWh).
The fire took place at in the early hours of Wednesday at Interconnexion France-Angleterre (IFA), in Sellindge, Kent.
The site was evacuated and it is understood there were no injuries while Kent Fire and Rescue sent 12 crews to the scene and battled the blaze for more than 12 hours.
Energy crisis: Energy bills for UK homes are set to soar this autumn and winter after a fire at a National Grid power facility in Kent (pictured) sent gas prices soaring to record highs
Two fire engines and one height vehicle remained on site as late as 8pm last night as crews continued dampening down remaining hotspots.
The fire damaged an interconnector running under the English Channel, the National Grid said in a statement.
Electricity interconnectors are high-voltage cables that connect the electricity systems of neighbouring countries, and allow them to share excess power.
The landing point for the subsea cable linking France to the UK is Folkestone, from where underground cables connect to the Sellindge converter station and then onto the UK's transmission station.
A spokesperson for National Grid's electricity system operator, which balances power supplies in the UK, said it expects to "continue supplying electricity safely and securely" despite the incident.
The IFA 1, which was still on fire last night, brings in two megawatts per hour, enough to
