A ONE billion pound undersea cable which links Hunterston to the Wirral peninsula to carry electricity has hit a technical fault.
The problem with the Western Link means there will now be a delay to it being commissioned.
National Grid and ScottishPower Transmission launched the joint venture to build the link, which will help to bring renewable energy from Scotland to homes and businesses in Wales and England.
Construction has been carried out by a consortium of Siemens and Prysmian.
A spokeswoman for Western Link said: "There is no problem with the subsea cable in the Hunterston area. 
"However, during final commissioning tests a cable fault was detected in Liverpool Bay which caused the Link to trip.
"Whilst teams have been mobilised to instigate a repair, this does mean that the Western Link was not commissioned at the end of June as initially planned. 
"Further updates will be provided once we have fully investigated the nature of this fault."
The Western Link project sees a converter station at each end to change the electricity from direct current to alternating current to enable it to be used within the existing electricity transmission system. 
The fault with the cable is not the first problem for the ambitious underwater operation.
Last September, fire crews were called to an incident at the converter station at Hunterston.
There were reports of an explosion taking place at the site, and images appeared on social media of smoke coming from the scene.
Scottish Fire and Rescue were called to the site near the Hunterston nuclear plant and the facility was visibly damaged, with several pieces of outer cladding shaken loose.
Bosses say the Western Link is a 'vital part of our infrastructure for the 21st century, bringing widespread benefits'.
They added: "The UK faces a major challenge in how it continues to meet the country's increasing energy needs and addresses the problem of climate change; as a result, the way the UK generates electricity is changing significantly.
"In the UK there has been a rapid growth in renewable energy as we move towards becoming a low carbon economy. 
"This means that we need to strengthen and increase the capacity of the electricity transmission system."