USA, New York, New York City: The Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) transmission line has gone offline for the second time this month, affecting a major clean-energy route designed to bring Canadian hydropower to New York City.
The 1,250 MW transmission line can deliver up to 20 % of the city’s electricity. Hydro-Québec said the latest outage was caused by a cable issue on the U.S. section of the line.
The $6 B project was developed by Hydro-Québec with Blackstone and began operation in May, following more than 15 years of planning and development. It is intended to reduce New York City’s dependence on fossil fuel generation.
According to Hydro-Québec, teams working on the issue have identified the cable problem and are continuing repair efforts. Operational data from New York ISO indicated that the shutdown could last through at least 17 July.
The company said the latest cable issue is unrelated to a previous shutdown on 1 July. The line had been operating during New York City’s recent heat wave before the new outage occurred.
The timing is significant, as electricity demand is expected to rise sharply with temperatures approaching 38°C in New York. Without CHPE, the city may rely more heavily on local power plants, including units burning diesel fuel.
The outage highlights the importance of transmission reliability as large cities integrate more clean energy into their power supply and reduce dependence on higher-emission generation.
Source: Firstpost
