New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the completion and energisation of the 100-mile Smart Path Connect transmission project.
The project is expected to deliver approximately $438m in annual benefits to New York households and businesses.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The new transmission line, currently in service across the North Country and Mohawk Valley, is designed to facilitate the flow of renewable energy and improve the reliability of New York’s electricity infrastructure.
Developed through a collaboration between the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and National Grid, Smart Path Connect aims to ease transmission congestion and integrate new and existing renewable energy sources.
The project is part of what is described as the largest investment in New York’s electric grid in the past half-century.
Governor Hochul said: “Smart Path Connect’s completion delivers hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings and measurable benefits to communities and businesses across New York.
“By modernising this essential energy infrastructure, we are moving clean power more efficiently and eliminating bottlenecks that have driven up energy costs.
“The upgraded corridor not only unlocks renewable energy, it also strengthens grid reliability and secures a thriving economic future for all New Yorkers.”
Smart Path Connect is projected to unlock 1GW of renewable energy capacity in upstate New York, including hydropower generated at the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in Massena.
The project included upgrades to approximately 100 miles of transmission lines, construction of four new substations and improvements to ten existing substations across Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Lewis and Oneida counties.
The NYPA undertook the construction and energisation of three digital substations in Massena, Chateaugay and Croghan, modified six existing substations and created 45 miles of new transmission lines linking Clinton and Massena.
NYPA president and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said: “Through the Smart Path Connect transmission project, under Governor Hochul’s leadership, we are modernising energy infrastructure to help ensure the lights stay on and that we are lowering energy costs for New Yorkers.”
National Grid was responsible for the southern segment, which extends 55 miles from Croghan to Marcy, including a new substation in Glenfield.
The two segments of the project are connected by NYPA’s 78-mile Smart Path transmission upgrade, completed in mid-2023, together forming nearly 200 uninterrupted miles of 345kV lines between Clinton and Oneida counties.
This work complements other major transmission initiatives across New York, including the Champlain Hudson Power Express, Propel NY Energy and National Grid’s Upstate Upgrade portfolio.
