LONDON (Reuters) - Ofgem has approved plans for a 1 gigawatt electricity interconnector link with Belgium, it said on Tuesday.
The Nemo interconnector would run from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Kent in southern England, facilitating the flow of enough electricity to power up to 3 million homes, Britain's Energy Secretary Ed Davey said in the Ofgem statement.
"This is a major landmark in our ambition to greatly increase interconnection with our neighbours, to improve our energy security and lower bills," he said.
Interconnectors transmission cables are becoming increasingly important in Europe's integrating electricity market because they allow excess production in one country to flow easily to a neighbouring country.
Britain is a facing a power capacity crunch as ageing and polluting stations are shut down and has sought to increase power links with Europe and encourage investment in new plants domestically through an overhaul of its energy policy.
Nemo is joint project between Britian's National Grid and Belgium's electricity transmission system operator Elia.
It is due to open in 2019, Ofgem said.
(Reporting By Susanna Twidale; Editing by David Goodman)