The Public Radio outlet for northern New York reports that the US$4 billion ($5.1 billion CDN) project to provide New York City with electricity from Hydro-Québec could start laying the transmission line later in 2022. Road building and other preparations will have to be done first. Of particular interest to residents of northern New York are the plans to submerge the line under Lake Champlain. That work is likely to begin in 2024.
The line will not deliver electricity to northern New York. It will, however, result in construction employment and increased tax revenue for Clinton, Essex, and Washington counties. The report provides a background on the evolution of Indigenous relations surrounding the development of hydropower in northern Québec. It also highlights that Canadian hydropower provides base load renewable electricity, which – in turn – enables the intermittent sources of renewable electricity to operate on the grid.