New York has completed and energized Smart Path Connect, a 100-mile transmission project that state officials say will improve grid reliability and deliver about $438 million in annual benefits to New Yorkers.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the completion Monday, saying the North Country and Mohawk Valley project will help move more renewable energy across the state and reduce costly transmission congestion.
The project was developed by the New York Power Authority and National Grid. It upgraded about 100 miles of transmission lines, added four new substations and upgraded 10 existing substations across Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Lewis and Oneida counties.
State officials said the project unlocks 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in Upstate New York, including hydropower from the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in Massena.
“Smart Path Connect’s completion delivers hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings and measurable benefits to communities and businesses across New York,” Hochul said. “By modernizing this essential energy infrastructure, we are moving clean power more efficiently and eliminating bottlenecks that have driven up energy costs.”
NYPA built and energized three new substations, made significant modifications to six existing substations and completed 45 miles of new transmission lines between Clinton and Massena. National Grid completed the project’s 55-mile southern segment between Croghan and Marcy, including a new Austin Road substation in Glenfield.
The two Smart Path Connect segments are linked by NYPA’s 78-mile Smart Path transmission project, forming nearly 200 miles of upgraded 345-kilovolt transmission between Clinton and Oneida counties.
Officials said the project is part of the largest investment in New York’s electric grid in 50 years and was built largely within existing transmission rights-of-way.
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