An underground 339‑mile power line called CHPE links Quebec to Queens, aiming to supply up to 20 % of New York City’s electricity largely from Quebec’s abundant hydropower. During the July heat wave, the state imported 52 gigawatt‑hours from Canada, a share of that coming via this line.

Construction began in late 2022 and wrapped up earlier this year, with the privately funded project costing 6 billion dollars. Transmission Developers, a company owned by Blackstone, partnered with Hydro‑Québec to lay a bundle of two high‑voltage direct‑current cables—each about five inches across—through the Hudson River and across the state’s underground.

CHPE has struggled to get online, registering two outages in the first week of July. The first, a converter trip on the Canadian side, and the second, a damaged cable section on the U.S. side, forced the line to shut down. Hydro‑Québec replaced the damaged segment, and the remaining work is expected to finish by weekend.

Grid planners did not count on CHPE during the heat wave, so the system remained reliable. Once fully tested, the line could reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower system costs, though Quebec’s drought‑hit hydropower fleet may limit the amount that can be transported. The project’s future hinges on overcoming these technical and environmental hurdles.