science
New England Clean Energy Connect Line Begins Delivering Canadian Hydropower After Years of Legal Delays
The 1,200-megawatt line from Quebec into Maine has operated for roughly 27 days with zero flow since January. Massachusetts contracted for 9.55 terawatt-hours annually to meet 20 percent of its demand.
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The New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line began carrying electricity from Canada into Maine in January 2026. After nearly six months of operations, energy flow into New England via NECEC is up just marginally. There have been roughly 27 days when no power traveled along NECEC.
If current trends hold, New England will receive less hydropower this year over two transmission lines than it did over just one line in 2023 and previous years. ” The Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line started sending electricity from Quebec into New York City in June 2026. 2 gigawatts of additional renewable energy.
55 terawatt-hours of hydropower per year, roughly 20 percent of the state’s annual electricity demand. A first NECEC proposal, a 192-mile project through New Hampshire, was abandoned in 2019. A statewide referendum in Maine put the NECEC project on hold in 2021.
A jury ruled in 2023 that NECEC development could be restarted. NECEC came online two and a half years after the 2023 jury ruling. NECEC was completely inactive from a half day on April 28, 2026, to nearly two weeks at the end of May and beginning of June 2026.
