{"id":446052,"date":"2026-01-31T22:48:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/446052\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T22:48:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:48:25","slug":"extreme-cold-disrupts-hydro-quebec-exports-to-massachusetts-during-spike-in-power-use-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/446052\/","title":{"rendered":"Extreme cold disrupts Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec exports to Massachusetts during spike in power use – Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extreme cold forced Hydro-\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0to temporarily suspend its energy exports to Massachusetts just one week after inaugurating its new line.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hydro-\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs both confirmed the news, which was first reported by specialized media outlet E&E News.<\/p>\n

The decision came as last weekend\u2019s polar vortex led to a significant increase in demand in\u00a0Quebec\u00a0. There is also less water in Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s reservoirs at the moment due to a three-year drought.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring peak periods, the needs of our customers in\u00a0Quebec\u00a0are prioritized,\u201d Hydro-\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0spokesperson Lynn St-Laurent said Thursday in an email.<\/p>\n

The utility said it suspended deliveries to Massachusetts over the weekend and for one hour on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

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The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said it is aware of the \u201chistoric constraints\u201d faced by Hydro-\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0during the period of extreme cold.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have been in touch with Hydro-\u00a0Quebec\u00a0as New England also contends with cold temperatures,\u201d spokesperson Maria Hardiman wrote Thursday. \u201cWe know they are working to resume full delivery of power as quickly as possible, and have continued to provide power at various times in the past few days.\u201d<\/p>\n

The temporary halt happened less than a week after the opening of the New England Clean Energy Connect line, which connects Quebec\u2019s network to Massachusetts via Maine.<\/p>\n

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Hydro\u2011Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s bid was selected to supply 9.45 TWh per year to the state over a 20\u2011year period, under a deal signed in 2018. The total revenues from the contract are estimated at $16 billion.<\/p>\n

However, the deal was signed when Hydro-\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0was in an energy surplus. Since then, demand has grown, forcing the provincial Crown corporation to seek ways of increasing production to meet future energy needs.<\/p>\n

The Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs indicated it is considering imposing penalties on the\u00a0Quebec\u00a0provider.<\/p>\n

While the contract includes a provision for penalties in cases when Hydro-\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0doesn\u2019t meet its obligations, the utility said none had been imposed as of Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to the contractual provisions, events such as those occurring over the weekend, during a peak period, may exempt us from potential penalties,\u201d St-Laurent wrote.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t&copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Extreme cold forced Hydro-\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0to temporarily suspend its energy exports to Massachusetts just one week after inaugurating its new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,172443,101002,66],"class_list":["post-446052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-extreme-cold","tag-hydro-quebec","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}