page_title: Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system
section_title: Routes
hierarchical_section_title: Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system / Electricity transmission system features / AC 735 / 765 kV power lines / Routes
caption_attribution_description: English: Cross rope suspension pylons used on some parts of Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie's 735 kV lines between the James Bay hydroelectric complex and Montreal. Français&#160;: Pylônes haubanés à chaînettes utilisés sur certaines sections des lignes à 735 kV d'Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie's entre le complexe La Grande et Montréal.
context_page_description: Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system is an international power transmission system centred in Quebec, Canada. The system pioneered the use of very high voltage 735 kV alternating current power lines that link the population centres of Montreal and Quebec City to distant hydroelectric power stations like the Daniel-Johnson Dam and the James Bay Project in northwestern Quebec and the Churchill Falls Generating Station in Labrador.
  The system contains more than 34,187 kilometres of lines and 530 electrical substations. It is managed by Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie, a division of the crown corporation Hydro-Québec and is part of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council. It has 17 interconnections with the systems in Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and the Northeastern United States and 6,025 MW of interconnection import capacity and 7,974 MW of interconnection export capacity.
  Major expansion of the network began with the commissioning of the 735 kV AC power line in November 1965, as there was a need for electricity transmission over vast distances from the north to southern Quebec.
  Much of Quebec's population is served by a few 735 kV power lines.
context_section_description: Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie's 735 kV system consists of a set of six lines running from James Bay to Montreal and a set of four lines from Churchill Falls and the Manic-Outardes power stations to Quebec City. The South Shore region of Montreal and the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City contain 735 kV power line loops or rings.
  James Bay
  The James Bay hydroelectric dam complex contains several relatively short 735 kV power lines that send electricity to three principal substations, ordered from west to east: Radisson, Chissibi, and Lemoyne. From these substations, six 735 kV power lines traverse the vast expanses of taiga and boreal forest in clear-cut stretches of land; this shows up clearly in aerial photos. The terrain that the power lines cross is for the most part not mountainous, but smooth and replete with lakes. Generally, four of the lines runs together in two pairs and the other two run solo, although the two single lines sometimes do run in a pair. Two intermediate 735 kV power lines, one in the north and one in the south, connect all six power lines along their path to southern Quebec.
  As the lines continue south, they diverge into two sets of three 735 kV transmission lines. The eastern set heads to Quebec City, where it connects with power lines from Churchill Falls and the 735 kV power line loops in the Saint Lawrence River region. The western set heads to Montreal, where it too forms a ring of 735 kV power lines around the city, linking to other power loops in the region. This section of Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie's power grid contains 7,400 km (4,600 mi) of 735 kV AC and 450 kV DC power line.
  Manic-Outardes power stations / Churchill Falls
  Electrical power generated from the Churchill Falls power station is sent to Montreal and the population centres of the Northeastern United States, more than 1,200 kilometres (700 mi) away. Starting from the generation station in Labrador, the power lines span a distance of 1,800 metres (6,000 ft) over the Churchill River gorge and run generally south-southwest for 203 kilometres (126 mi) as three side-by-side power lines in a cleared right-of-way with a width of 216 metres (709 feet). As they head southwest through boreal forest, the lines generally traverse flat, smooth rolling hills.
  After the lines cross the Quebec-Labrador border, also known as the Hydro-Québec point of delivery, the direction of the lines becomes due south, and they head to the Montagnais Substation, a substation accessible only by an airport adjacent to it. A lone 735 kV line stems off from the substation, heading to an open pit mine 142 kilometres (88 mi) the northwest. The terrain crossed by the power lines becomes hilly and mountainous south of the border. The lines reach over 800 metres (2,600 ft) in elevation before descending. The three lines continue heading south until they reach a substation on the North Shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. From there on, the three lines parallel the North Shore as the Gulf narrows to the southwest toward the Saint Lawrence River discharge mouth. The northernmost power line then diverges from the other two to connect with Manic-Outardes power stations located on and around the Rivière aux Outardes and the Manicouagan River.
  As the lines near Quebec City, the northern power line rejoins the other two 735 kV power lines. The three lines, paralleled by another 735 kV power line some distance to the north, span over the Saint Lawrence River to the South Shore region, where the lines form loops encompassing part of the Saint Lawrence River and the south shore. The loops are also connected to the ring of 735 kV power lines around Montreal and power lines running south from James Bay.
caption: Cross rope "Chainette" ("little necklace") suspension pylons used on some parts of 735 kV lines between the James Bay hydroelectric complex and Montreal.
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