Jersey-France new electricity cable contracts signed

The 2,500-tonne Normandie 3 cable was officially switched on in January

A new £40m electricity cable between Jersey and France has been given the go-ahead as two utility companies sign contracts.

Both Jersey Electricity and Guernsey Electricity will pay £20m each for the project, which will replace Jersey's first 55MW electricity cable, called EDF1.

The original cable was installed in 1984 and has not been used since 2012.

The project is expected to be completed in 2017.

Stuart Blondel, of Guernsey Electricity, said: "This joint project is hugely important to our energy security and to the affordability of electricity in Guernsey.

"The laying of a cable to replace EDF1 will increase the amount of electricity that Guernsey can import - a less expensive, lower carbon and more secure source of energy than generating electricity on island."

In January, Jersey's third undersea cable bringing electricity from France was officially switched on.