A brand new $6 billion cable designed to bolster New York City’s energy supply during extreme heat will remain offline for the rest of the month, according to Hydro-Quebec. No power has flowed through the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) line for over 10 days, with repairs estimated to take another two weeks, the company said. Crews are working to replace a damaged section of underground cable on the Empire State side of the transmission route.
“The Champlain Hudson Power Express project remains off-line,” said Peter Rose, a Hydro-Quebec spokesperson. “Teams working around the clock have identified a fault with the terrestrial cable at a location on the U.S. portion of the transmission line route.” The outage coincides with a heatwave, heightening concerns about New York’s energy grid, which relies on the line as its largest power source, according to ConEd.
Outage Risks Energy Grid Strain
The CHPE line, which connects New York City to 61 hydroelectric plants in Canada, was meant to provide 1.25 gigawatts of power—enough for 1 million households. Earlier this year, the New York Independent System Operator warned of a “slim cushion” of power to meet summer demand, citing rising usage and the decommissioning of older energy sources. While ConEd said it can manage without the line, the project remains central to its strategy for handling peak loads.
This is the second time this month the transmission line has failed. In June, Gov. Kathy Hochul praised the project as a “massive victory” for the state’s renewable energy goals. However, the line was largely inactive in June due to a contract issue, with Hydro-Quebec previously stating it would be operational by July. So far this month, power has flowed through the line for only three days.
Governor Condemns Outage as “Unacceptable”
Hochul’s administration has criticized the outage, calling it “unacceptable” and stating officials are in daily contact with developers to resolve the issue. “The Champlain Hudson Power Express will play a key role in the state’s all-of-the-above strategy to keep the lights on and costs down for New Yorkers,” said Ken Lovett, a senior communications advisor on energy and environment for the governor.
Robert McCullough, an energy consultant, called the failure “unusual for a competent utility,” noting that vendors typically dispatch engineers immediately in such cases. The first failure was attributed to a technical issue on the Canadian side of operations.
Possible Next Steps
The 25-year contract requires the Canadian company to provide power from May through October, but the outage has raised questions about the project’s long-term reliability.
What is the Champlain Hudson Power Express? A 339-mile cable designed to bring 1.25 gigawatts of hydroelectric power from Canada to New York City, connecting to 61 Canadian hydro plants.
Why is the outage significant? The line is New York’s largest power source, and its failure occurs during a heatwave, increasing pressure on the state’s already strained energy grid.
What are the repair timelines?
How will New York balance its renewable energy ambitions with the need for reliable power as summer heating demands rise?
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