GMB has urged the government to “rethink” its policy around interconnectors, arguing the UK should invest in domestic generation rather than importing more power from overseas.
The union said Britain cannot depend on its neighbours to ensure the security of its electricity supplies when they are planning to do the same.
“UK investment in interconnectors needs an urgent review,” said GMB national secretary Justin Bowden.
“It makes absolutely no sense for the country to rely on other countries to keep our lights on, when they are doing the same thing.
“The money raised from household energy bills should be spent on reliable, cost-effective lower carbon energy sources in the UK rather than relying on imports which may not be available. In an increasingly uncertain world, energy self-sufficiency is common sense.
“We should not spend our time and money looking for silver bullets that may not exist.”
Last year, the government lowered the de-rating for interconnectors bidding in the capacity market after three new build projects – Nemo Link, Elec Link and IFA2 – secured contracts for 2.2GW of capacity in the most recent T-4 auction.
The Nemo Link interconnector entered commercial operation at the end of January.