France’s export balance with Italy remained high at 15.2 TWh, but was nonetheless lower than in previous years. The interconnector was once again mostly used for exports, though the number of one-hour periods when it was used for imports increased to 857 (about 10 % of the time) from 247 in 2019. Trading was more balanced than in previous years starting in April, since exchange capacity was reduced, and also because market conditions were more similar in the two countries. Indeed, power demand dropped sharply in Italy in the wake of the health crisis, and the average availability of generation capacity in France was reduced throughout most of the year.

The upcoming commissioning of the new Savoy-Piedmont interconnection will help boost exchange capacities between France and Italy.

Italy caps imports on days when demand is low, especially weekends in the spring and summer, as it must keep in service enough thermal power plants that can adjust their output to ensure the stability of the power system. On days when solar generation seems likely to cover a large share of demand, import capacity at interconnections is reduced. In 2020, exchange capacity was particularly restricted during the April-May lockdown since demand was so low in Italy.