At Hydro-Quebec, we are fortunate to be able to generate more than 95 percent of our electricitythrough this renewable and reliable source of low-cost energy. Because of Quebec's abundantwater resources and favourable geological conditions, hydropower is far more cost-effective thanany other options available to us. For instance, the base price of electricity at Hydro-Quebec isbetween 20 to 50 percent cheaper than thermal generation.
Quebec is also the living proof of the environmental benefits of hydropower. As a result of thewide availability and low cost of hydropower, electricity has truly become in the last two decades"preferred" energy source among Quebecers, making up about 40 percent of the total energyconsumed in Quebec. Accordingly, overall carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have declined byabout 20 percent - from 12.4 tons of CO2 per capita in 1970 to 10.1 tons of CO2 per capita in1990. Per capita emissions now are about half those of the rest of Canada (18.9 tons of CO2 percapita) and the U.S. (21.8 tons of CO2 per capita).
The geographical magnitude of our service territory has allowed us to develop a solid expertise intransmission technologies. For instance, in order to link our most remote generating stations toQuebec's largest urban centers, we have developed and built the most advanced high-tensiontransmission network in the world. Our 735-kV lines, interconnected with neighbouring systemsin Ontario, New Brunswick, and the northeastern U.S., are designed to minimize power loss andincrease flexibility. This allows us to provide greater reliability and to respond quickly to theneeds of our utility customers in Canada and the U.S.
We believe that our low production costs and expertise in hydropower technologies, combinedwith hydropower's added benefit of minimal greenhouse gas emissions, position us very well toplay a significant role in the emerging deregulated electric marketplace. We have a long andsuccessful tradition of trading electricity with neighbouring utilities in the U.S., and we havedeveloped a keen understanding of their needs. We can now offer a variety of products andservices that can help make them more competitive in this fast-changing and even more complexbusiness environment. These include reserve power and energy, transit services, energy banking,and other value-added options, all of which allow us and our partners to optimize existingfacilities without building new generating equipment.
The hydropower we generate in Quebec also can help U.S. utilities comply with clean airstandards. Our export figures for New York State are just one example: New York burned 13.6million less barrels of crude oil last year alone - equivalent to 5.6 million tons of CO2 - by usingour supply. The environmental benefits for New York consumers were equivalent to convertingNew York City's entire automobile fleet into electric cars. In New England where our sales weredouble that to New York, the positive impact of using hydropower from Quebec was evengreater.
Over the years we also have acquired unparalleled expertise as a builder and manager ofhydropower plants, dams, and reservoir systems, We plan to use this knowledge capital to helpdeveloping countries improve their economies while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This isconsistent with our commitment to encouraging sustainable development at home and everywherein the world.