State company Eirgrid plans to begin auctioning capacity on its electricity interconnector linking Ireland and Wales on June 19th.

The company is in the final stages of laying the cable that will connect Woodland, Co Meath, Deeside in Wales. It will have the capacity to transmit 500 megawatts of electricity, enough energy to power 300,000 homes, back and forth across the Irish Sea.

The company yesterday announced that it planned to auction the first block of capacity, 40 megawatt hours over three months, on June 19th.

Eirgrid announced its plans at a trade launch in London attended by power supply companies and energy traders, who were given details on how to register for the auction.

The company is selling capacity on the interconnector that will allow the buyers to transmit electricity between the two countries. Eirgrid operates the Republic’s national electricity grid.