The Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) entered commercial operation on May 13, 2026. It was built to carry 1,250 MW of Hydro-Quebec hydropower into New York City, a transmission-constrained load pocket that leans on in-city fossil generation at peak. The first summer of operation is complete. For Zone J battery energy storage, the record shows evening-only competition, concentrated in hot weeks and offset by forced-outage risk.

CHPE ran as an infrequent evening peak-shaver. It flowed in an afternoon-to-evening block, sat at zero otherwise, and compressed Zone J's day-ahead premium on the hottest days. On 85-90F days, Zone J's day-ahead four-hour top-bottom (TB4) spread premium averaged $17/MW-day when the line ran. That contrasts with $85/MW-day when it did not. The compression is most notable on hot days rather than in the summer average, and real-time premiums did not compress.

Key takeaways

• CHPE ran as an on-off block. The line sat at zero in 83% of five-minute intervals in June-August. Meanwhile, running hours averaged 940 MW against the 1,250 MW rating.
• New York stayed a net exporter to Quebec. Exports across the three Hydro-Quebec ties averaged 466 MW in June-August 2026, against 426 MW in summer 2025.
• The day-ahead spread effect appears on 85-90F days, where Zone J's day-ahead TB4 premium was 80% lower with CHPE. Above 90F, spreads were large with or without the line, and real-time premiums did not compress at any temperature.
• CHPE's reliability is now a planning risk. A cable fault removed 20 full operational days at the peak of summer, when reliability is needed the most.

CHPE ran at a 13% capacity factor and only flowed during evening peak

CHPE's 25-year contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) anticipates 10.4 TWh per year, a 1,187 MW average flow and a 95% capacity factor. The first summer ran at a 13% capacity factor.

June ran at a 6.5% capacity factor. Then, a damaged cable splice tripped the line at 8:15 AM on July 4, keeping it offline for 20 full days.

From August 5 the line settled into a daily cycle: zero from 2 AM to 8 AM, ramping through the afternoon to an August average of 1,189 MW across the 6-8 PM hours, and off by midnight. August's capacity factor was 25%, and September has run at 30%. For September, the line still sits at zero overnight but has touched its 1,250 MW rating on 18 of its first 21 days.