It's not a real arbitrage, almost nothing that carries that moniker actually is. But the story reminded me of J.P Morgan trading the sterling/dollar gold points and, well, another inaccurate headline.
From Power Grid International, March 18:
Power across the pond? UK ponders transatlantic grid link with US
The plan, proposed by a group of London investors and consultants, would include installing six cables spanning about 3,500 miles under the Atlantic, allowing both countries to import power during peak demand due to the timezone difference.
Ofgem, Britian’s energy regulator, is considering a plan that would involve installing thousands of miles of transatlantic undersea cables to import and export power across the Atlantic with the U.S., the Telegraph reports.
The plan, proposed by a group of London investors and consultants, would include installing six cables spanning about 3,500 miles under the Atlantic, allowing both countries to import power during peak demand due to the timezone difference. The plan could cost up to £20 billion (roughly $25 billion), the Telegraph reports, although the exact price has not been determined.
The U.K. has become increasingly reliant on imported power in recent years, the Telegraph reports, with nine operational interconnections allowing it to receive power from other European countries. A subsea cable system between the U.K. and U.S. would have been unfeasible until recently, as improvements in cable manufacturing have resulted in much lower losses in power over long distances, the Telegraph reports.
Proponents of the plan told the Telegraph that such a system would need additional resilience measures in place. This would come in the form of redundant sets of cables – three pairs of cables at 2 GW each, for example, instead of one single cable that could lead to downtime if damaged....
....MUCH MORE