Hydro-Quebec seals $2 billion deal to buy New England power firm

Canada’s Hydro-Quebec agreed to buy Great River Hydro and its 13 hydroelectric generating stations in a $2 billion deal, expanding its footprint in the northeastern U.S. where it’s been supplying electricity for decades.

Hydro-Quebec, owned by Quebec’s provincial government, is buying the assets from ArcLight Capital Partners, according to a statement Wednesday. The stations along the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers have 589 megawatts of capacity, enough to power over 213,000 homes in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the companies said.

The price tag includes about $750 million in Great River debt.

“This acquisition represents a unique opportunity to combine our know-how in managing and leveraging hydro facilities with Great River Hydro’s thorough understanding of the New England market,” Hydro-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Sophie Brochu said. The combination will “support the development of new renewable energy projects, in a market where such resources are in high demand,” she added.

Hydro-Quebec has been exporting electricity to New England since the 1980s, but the utility has been looking to increase and diversify its business with its American neighbors. A project to deliver 1,250 megawatts to New York via the Champlain Hudson Power Express appears set to go ahead, but another proposed line to Boston is now locked in a legal battle following a referendum in Maine where voters opposed the project.

Great River bought the 13 generation stations from TransCanada Corp. in 2017 for a little more than $1 billion. A Hydro-Quebec spokesperson said the power market has shifted significantly since then: “With the growth of intermittent renewable energies, the prices for power have more than doubled.”