North America’s longest fully-buried transmission line has begun delivering Canadian hydropower to New York City, state policymakers and grid officials said Tuesday.
The $6-billion Champlain-Hudson Power Express is expected to deliver 10.4 TWh annually, helping meet up to 20% of the city’s electric needs. Construction was completed ahead of schedule and power flows from Hydro-Québec to New York commenced June 1.
Champlain-Hudson will help to replace the Indian Point nuclear plant, which was shuttered in 2021. Since Indian Point’s closure, New York City has relied more on gas-fired plants that have caused emissions downstate to grow, according to a statement from Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
According to analysis by the Times Union, more than 90% of the capacity lost when Indian Point shuttered its two 1-GW units in 2020 and 2021 was replaced by fossil fuels. The Trump administration has called for restarting Indian Point, but Hochul has rejected that idea.
“This project is further proof that despite the unprecedented federal headwinds we are facing, New York will remain a national climate and clean energy leader into the future,” Hochul said.
The Champlain-Hudson line was selected in 2021 as part of a solicitation administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and project developer Transmission Developers Inc. began construction the following year. The 1,250-MW direct current line connects to the grid at the New York Power Authority’s Astoria Annex substation, which was recently expanded. TDI also built a nearly four-mile underground transmission line, the Astoria Rainey Cable, connecting the Astoria Annex to Con Edison’s Rainey substation.
The Champlain-Hudson project “illustrates how complex infrastructure can be delivered through sustained collaboration and shared expertise,” Hydro-Québec President and CEO Claudine Bouchard said. “More importantly, it highlights the growing role of interconnected transmission grids in enhancing system reliability and resilience.”
Electric reliability across the region this summer will benefit from newly completed transmission projects, the Northeast Power Coordinating Council said last week.
New York, New England and the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, are expected to have adequate electricity supplies for typical weather. But under grid stress, some regions “will need to rely on operating procedures in addition to imports to address resource shortages,” NPCC said in its 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment.
