Another step towards the conclusion of a historic partnership between Hydro-Québec and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke

The bill regarding the Hertel–New York interconnection line tabled today by Québec’s Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, will allow the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) and Hydro-Québec to conclude a historic co-ownership agreement. Under this agreement, the MCK will become the joint owner of the interconnection line that will connect Hydro-Québec’s power system to the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) line. Once the law is passed, Hydro-Québec will be able to transfer ownership of the Hertel–New York interconnection line to a new entity that it will jointly own with the MCK.

“The joint ownership of a power transmission asset with a First Nation is a first in Hydro-Québec’s history,” explained Hydro-Québec’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Sophie Brochu. “The bill tabled today provides for the implementation of this innovative approach in the context of the interconnection project with New York City. We are working in true partnership with the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke and, in so doing, we are shaping Hydro-Québec’s future relations with Indigenous communities.”

“Kahnawà:ke is proud to take part in this project designed to transmit renewable energy to New York City—a city that Mohawk ironworkers helped build with their own hands,” affirmed Ohénton Í:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs (Grand Chief) Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer. “This partnership marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation between Hydro-Québec and Kahnawà:ke, and we hope that other First Nations will have the opportunity to participate in similar projects in the near future.”

Partnership between the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke and Hydro-Québec

Further to a memorandum of understanding announced in June 2021, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke and Hydro-Québec will co-own the Hertel–New York interconnection line that will be built in Québec to deliver clean electricity to the interconnection point with the CHPE line. The agreement will secure economic benefits for the community over a 40-year period.

Hertel–New York interconnection line

In Québec, the interconnection project with New York involves building a transmission line approximately 58 km long between Hertel substation, in La Prairie, and an interconnection point with the CHPE line on the Canada-U.S. border. The government permitting process is underway: the Hertel–New York project is subject to the provincial environmental and social impact assessment and review procedure, which includes a review by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. It will also be examined by the Canada Energy Regulator, given that it involves cross-border energy transmission. Construction work in Québec could begin in summer 2023, with a view to commissioning of the line in 2026.

For more information on the Hertel–New York interconnection line project, visit

https://www.hydroquebec.com/projects/hertel-new-york-interconnection/.

Information:

Lynn St-Laurent, spokesperson
Tel.: 514 358-5218

Hydro-Québec media relations
Tel.: 514 289-5005