France’s export balance with Spain remained significant at 9.7 TWh. It was nonetheless 19% lower than in 2018, notably due to a limitation of exchange capacities between April and early December. For the first time, France posted a monthly export balance of more than 2 TWh in March.

A technical problem on the 400 kV Argia-Cantegrit interconnector limited exchanges between the countries starting in April, notably for exports.

Maintenance was done on the line between April and early December to protect the physical integrity of the line and guarantee interconnection capacity. Capacity was reduced to about a third of its normal level in both directions during this period. Available capacity rose sharply when the work was completed.

The availability of capacity at the France-Spain border was lower on average, reaching 2,152 MW for exports and 2,224 MW for imports. The interconnector was saturated 78% of the time (68% for exports and 10% for imports).