Construction Begins On Canada Hydropower Transmission Lines To NYC

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) celebrated the Start of Construction this week, on a 339-mile, $4.5 Billion, Transmission Line to carry Green Energy from Quebec’s Hydroelectric Dams to New York City's Five Boroughs.

Then underground Power Cables, known as the Champlain Hudson Power Express, are key to weaning the City’s Grid off of Fossil Fuels. Energy from the Project could bring up to 1,250 megawatts of Electricity to the City, enough to power about 1 million homes, meeting roughly 20% of the City’s Energy needs.

“This Champlain Hudson line is an example of how we confront climate-change challenges and energy challenges together [while] in the meantime creating great jobs for a cleaner, healthier New York,” Hochul said Wednesday during a event upstate in Whitehall, where the Project’s First phase, a 17.6-mile stretch through Washington County, is underway.

The Transmission line is designed to help New York meet its Green-Energy and Climate-Change Laws, including a requirement for the State to draw 70% of its Electricity from Renewable Sources by 2030, and to Decarbonize its Electric Grid entirely by 2040.

State Regulators, who said they expect the Project to generate $3.4 billion in Economic Benefits, approved the years-planned Transmission lines in April.

With other State and Federal Permits in hand, Blackstone-owned Transmission Developers and Canadian Public Utility Hydro-Québec, have quickly moved the Project forward. A freshly inked agreement between the Developers and the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council, is expected to lead to about 1,400 Union jobs.

A lot is riding on the Project to be completed by spring 2026, as projected. The Deadline was pushed back this fall from the end of 2025.

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which manages the State’s Electric Grid, warned Wednesday in a Report, that if the Deadline is Not met, the City’s Residents and Businesses could face Electricity Shortages and other Reliability issues, particularly during Heat Waves and other severe Weather events.

Just this year the City experienced its longest Heat Wave since 2016, with 25 days at 90 degrees or more. Heat waves lead to High demand that can Overburden the Grid.

The NYISO Report cautioned that major delays with the Champlain Hudson project could create serious Problems for the City’s Grid.

“We see reliability margins narrowing to concerning levels as early as 2023,” Zach Smith, Vice President of System and Resource Planning, said in a Statement. “To meet policy goals and maintain reliability, we need to use the power of markets to mitigate these risks as we bring new resources on the grid.”










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