Alan Bates said the current cable to Jersey had a remaining lifespan of 10 years, and a direct link to France was needed so the island would be able to bring in far more power.
'We can currently import around three-quarters of our electricity and we need more capacity and more security, so in order to grow in the future we need this cable,' he said.
'We currently have a supply contract with EDF, which runs from 2013 to 2022, and that gives some certainty up to about three-years ahead.
'It is on a no-take, no-pay basis, so that if, for instance, the price of crude oil was to drop to $25 a barrel, we could look to that for power.'
