Activists in New Hampshire are forcing a project important to Hydro Quebec to do something the utility has refused to do in this province: spend extra money to put its high voltage power lines underground.
Hydro Quebec's American partner is paying $500-million to bury 100 kilometres of transmission line that will run through the scenic White Mountains, according to the Journal de Montreal.
The Northern Pass line linking the Eastern Townships to Deerfield, Massachusetts will allow Hydro to sell its surplus electricity to utilities in New England, including in the Boston area. Construction is due to be completed in 2019.
Activists in New Hampshire argued that overhead high voltage power lines would ruin the natural beauty of the White Mountains and endanger homes along the route.
Some activists in Quebec have tried to force Hydro Quebec do to lay underground cables here but they had no luck in communities such as Dollard des Ormeaux on the West Island and Saint Adolphe d'Howard in the Laurentians.