Electricity trade between the U.S. and Canada is set to increase with recently proposed transmission projects, the U.S.' Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday.
'U.S. electricity trade with Canada is increasing, providing more economic and reliability benefits to both countries,' EIA said, adding 'recent and proposed transmission projects have the potential to increase the amount of trade across the border.'
The 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line between the U.S. state of Montana and Canada's western province Alberta was completed in 2013 to allow power to flow in both directions between the two countries.
Another proposed 500 kV project, the Great Northern Transmission line, plans to connect Minnesota in the U.S. with Manitoba in Canada.
In addition, electricity is planned to be sent from Canada's Quebec to the U.S.' New York City, which could bring up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of additional power.
The U.S. administration said Canada is a net exporter of electricity to the U.S., while most of its power needs are met by hydroelectricity.
The EIA confirmed that currently there are more than 30 power transmission linkages between the two countries at the moment.
'During 2014, 60 companies in Canada exported 58.4 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity into the U.S., making up 1.6 percent of U.S.' electricity retail sales and 10 percent of Canadian electricity generation,' EIA explained.
While large hydroelectric projects in Canada's British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador have significantly increased the country's generation capacity, Canada exports electricity mostly to the U.S.' New England, New York, and the Midwest states, EIA said.
Correspondingly, the U.S. exports electricity from the Pacific Northwest states to the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, and Quebec, EIA noted.
EIA stated that transmission connections linking the two countries are important for the electricity markets for the U.S.' northern states as electricity imports from Canada are a small part of the U.S. energy mix.
'Customers in western Canada and in the U.S. northeast can access low-cost hydropower resources from the other side of the border,' it noted.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
ovunc.kutlu@aa.com.tr