A major new transmission link designed to deliver clean hydroelectric power from Québec to New England has entered commercial operation, marking a milestone in cross-border electrical cooperation — but early performance under extreme winter conditions has sparked fresh debate over regional grid reliability.
The New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) line, a 1,200-megawatt high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project, began delivering electricity on January 16, 2026, after nearly a decade of planning, regulatory reviews, legal challenges and construction delays. Designed to carry firm hydroelectricity from Hydro-Québec into the Independent System Operator-New England (ISO-NE) grid, the line is widely positioned as a key element in decarbonising the region’s power mix and lowering wholesale electricity prices.
Officials in Massachusetts and Maine welcomed the start of commercial operations with rhetoric emphasising affordability, reliability and climate benefits. In a press release celebrating the milestone, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said the project will deliver around 20 per cent of the state’s electricity needs and generate more than US$3.3 billion in net economic benefits through lower wholesale costs over the life of long-term contracts with Hydro-Québec.
“Today power is flowing to Massachusetts through the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line,” Healey said, noting that the project has been completed through “planning, partnerships and perseverance.”
But just days after NECEC began commercial operation, the region was hit by Winter Storm Fern — a blast of Arctic cold that pushed both Canadian and U.S. electricity systems to the brink of peak demand. During the cold snap, power flows on the NECEC link abruptly stopped on January 24 and remained offline until January 26 after Québec restricted exports to meet higher domestic electricity demand as temperatures plunged.
The interruption meant that rather than importing electricity from Hydro-Québec, the ISO-NE grid actually exported power back to Canada, a reversal that lasted from the afternoon of January 24 through the evening of January 25.
That reversal highlighted the very challenge NECEC is meant to address: tight energy markets during winter months when natural gas pipeline capacity is constrained and demand for power and heat surges. During the flow interruption, New England turned to petroleum-fired generation, producing more electricity from oil than natural gas — a less carbon-efficient outcome and a throwback to older fuel sources that clean energy advocates hoped to displace.
Industry observers have been quick to point out that extreme weather conditions — the same conditions that stress grid reliability — also stress water supplies behind major hydroelectric systems, potentially limiting Québec’s ability to export power precisely when it’s needed most. Reporting from Energywire noted that some analysts view the outage as a test of whether cross-border links like NECEC can deliver under peak stress, especially as New England faces growing electricity demand and a shifting generation mix.
Hydro-Québec has acknowledged the interruptions but framed them as a function of record cold and extremely high demand within Québec itself, where much of the population relies on electric heating. A spokesperson for the company told power sector outlets that deliveries were expected to resume and emphasised contractual protections that mitigate ratepayer exposure to shortfalls.
Still, critics argue the early weather test underscores the need for a diversified portfolio of generation resources. Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, told E&E News that while NECEC can help reduce gas burn and emissions under normal conditions, “there is no single answer that will stabilize the system” during peak stress without a mix that includes local generation, storage, renewables and fossil backstops.
Proponents counter that NECEC’s strengths are structural and long-term. Analyses from project backers like Avangrid and Iberdrola — which built the line — point to tens of millions in tax revenue for host communities and savings for ratepayers, who benefit from stable, long-term pricing tied to hydropower contracts.
The project’s ability to reduce New England’s reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets comes as natural gas prices and price volatility remain high, particularly in winter, and as regional policymakers pursue ambitious decarbonisation goals.
Despite the early operational hiccup, NECEC represents one of the largest pieces of cross-border energy infrastructure in North America and a model of regional cooperation between Québec’s hydro-abundant system and U.S. utilities seeking cleaner, more reliable power sources.
Whether it will deliver under peak stress conditions remains an evolving story — one that utilities, regulators and market observers will be watching closely as winter continues and as the region’s energy transition accelerates.
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