Quebec is the single largest source of imported electricity in the northeastern United States. On an average day, Hydro-Québec and its partners push thousands of megawatts of hydroelectric power across the border into New York and New England — and much of it ends up lighting Manhattan and Boston.
The corridor between Quebec and New York / New England is the largest cross-border electricity flow in North America. Its major interties have a combined import capacity of roughly 3,400 MW on the Quebec side, and typical sustained exports run between 2,000 and 3,000 MW — often higher during New England heat waves and winter cold snaps.
Watch the live number on the PowerTrip cross-border map — it updates every 15 minutes from official grid-operator data.
Several high-voltage interties carry the flow. The most important ones:
Despite being famous as an exporter, Quebec imports too. During Quebec’s own winter peaks (heating is largely electric), demand can exceed domestic generation, and power briefly flows north. The border works like a shared storage system: export cheap hydro when the US grid is stressed, import back when prices or weather favor it.
Nearly all of it is hydroelectricity from reservoirs like the La Grande Complex in James Bay — a system of dams and reservoirs with enormous seasonal storage. That storage is why Quebec can shift power between hours and seasons so effectively: water saved in spring can be exported during an August heat wave or a January cold snap.
Yes — reservoir hydropower has a very low lifecycle carbon footprint (typically well under 20 g CO₂/kWh, vs. hundreds for gas). Reservoir construction and methane from flooded biomass are the main caveats, but over a reservoir’s life the footprint remains far below fossil generation. The power mix on the Quebec↔US corridor consistently measures 99%+ clean.
Imports from Quebec typically cover a mid-single-digit to low-double-digit share of NYISO demand, peaking higher in winter and summer. The exact share varies by hour — track it live on PowerTrip.
Hydro-Québec reports consistent export revenues of over CAD $1 billion per year. Surplus water that would otherwise spill can be sold at market prices — the economics depend on reservoir conditions and US market prices.
Yes. The Champlain Hudson Power Express, New England Clean Energy Connect (Maine), and other projects are expanding how much Quebec hydro can reach US cities.