The HVDC Cross-Channel () is the 73 km long high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector that operates since 1986 under the English Channel between the continental European grid at Bonningues-lès-Calais and the British electricity grid at Sellindge. The cable is also known as IFA, and should not be confused with the new IFA-2, another interconnect with France that is three times as long but only half as powerful. The current 2,000MW link is bi-directional and the countries can import or export depending upon market demands, mostly depending upon weather conditions and availability of renewable energy on the British Isles, and French surplus of nuclear generation or demand for electric heating. It was completed in 1986, and replaced the first cross-Channel link which was a 160MW link completed in 1961 and decommissioned in 1984. A fire in September 2021 caused the link to be removed from service. National Grid announced that half of its capacity would be restored on 20 October 2021, with full capacity being restored by October 2023. 160 MW system (1961) The first HVDC Cross-Channel scheme was built by ASEA and went into service in 1961, between converter stations at Lydd in England (next to Dungeness Nuclear Power Station) and Echinghen, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France. This scheme was equipped with mercury-arc valves, each having four anodes in parallel. In order to keep the disturbances of the magnetic compasses of passing ships as small as possible, a bipolar cable was used. The cable had a length of and was operated symmetrically at a voltage of ±100kV and a maximum current of 800amperes. The maximum transmission power of this cable was 160megawatts (MW). The cable was built by ABB. Given that the cable was laid on the surface of the seabed it was prone to being fouled by fishing nets, causing damage. Whilst repairs were undertaken there was considerable down time on the circuit resulting in a loss of trading. Indeed, by 1984 the circuit was disconnected from the Main Transmission System. 2,000 MW system (1986) Because the first installation did not meet increasing requirements, it was replaced in 1975–1986 by a new HVDC system with a maximum transmission rating of 2,000MW between France and the United Kingdom, for which two new converter stations were built in Sellindge, between Ashford and Folkestone in Kent, England and in Bonningues-lès-Calais (Les Mandarins station), near Calais, France. Unlike most HVDC schemes, where the two