A hydro power fight expected in N.Y. state

Hydro-Quebec eyes local opposition funded by rivals over power line

Hydro-Quebec expects pushback from U.S. rivals that sell power generated from fossil fuels as it prepares to begin construction on a transmission line that will deliver hydroelectricity from Canada to New York City.

While 36 local communities along the route have already signed off on the 1,250-megawatt Champlain Hudson Power Express project, Hydro-Quebec is gearing up for challenges from existing power providers that may be threatened by the influx of hydropower, chief executive officer Sophie Brochu said Thursday in an interview at Bloomberg News headquarters in New York.

“I think there will be opposition,” she said. “It might be driven by people locally, but it will be financed by companies in the southern United States.”

The project was approved last month as a key part of the state of New York’s plan to get 70 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It still must be approved by the New York Public Service Commission.

Any challenges may be similar to the one Hydro-Quebec is currently fighting in Maine, where another transmission project is facing a voter referendum next month. The New England Clean Energy Connect line is already under construction but may be scuttled if the vote goes against it.

Local groups that oppose the Maine project have received support from NextEra Energy Inc., Calpine Corp. and Vistra Corp., which are based in Florida and Texas but operate natural gas plants in the region.

The fight has turned ugly, with both sides spending millions of dollars on television ads in Maine. Brochu said the company should have moved more aggressively to defend the project early in the dispute.

“I told my team, we are not getting into this mud fight, and I regret it,” she said. “And while we were too nice, they made inroads.”