SSE unit seeks approval for 220 MW power cable in Scotland

OSLO, March 5 (Reuters) - Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of British utility SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) , filed a request to regulator Ofgem to approve a power link of up to 220 megawatt(MW) from Orkney to Scotland's mainland, it said on Monday.

* SSEN delivered a "Final Needs Case" for a subsea cable transmission link, the company said.

* "Solution would deliver up to 220 MW of new capacity, allowing new renewable generation on Orkney to connect to the GB (British) transmission network," it said.

* The solution which will initially deliver a single subsea cable in October 2022, followed by a second identical cable once further generation has been committed and the economic case made for further investment, SSEN said.

* "The 'tipping point' to justify the investment for the first cable is no more than 70MW, at which the cost of the investment is exceeded by the benefits of the renewable energy supplied to energy consumers," the statement said.

* The network infrastructure required to provide the transmission connection to Orkney is currently in development and is subject to planning approval, SSEN said.

* Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is responsible for operating and maintaining the electricity distribution networks supplying over 3.7 million homes and businesses. (Reporting by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos, editing by David Evans)