Editing James Bay Project (section)

=== Phase I ===
The period of construction of the first phase of the project covered about 14 years. By 1986, the largest power stations and reservoirs on the La Grande River were mostly completed, including the [[Robert-Bourassa generating station|Robert-Bourassa]] (originally named La Grande-2), La Grande-3 and La Grande-4 generating stations, with an installed capacity of 10,800&nbsp;MW, and five reservoirs covering an area of 11,300&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. The Eastmain and Caniapiscau river diversions each added about 800&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s of water to the La Grande River. The power plants of the first phase of the James Bay Project produce about 65&nbsp;TWh of power each year, operating at about 60% of their maximum rated generating capacity.

During this first phase of construction, over {{convert|155,000,000|m3|cuyd}} of fill, 138,000 tons of steel, 550,000 tons of cement, and nearly 70,000 tons of explosives were used. Concurrent employment by the project reached 18,000. Of the 215 dikes and dams, many surpassed the height of skyscrapers, with one reaching 56 stories. The terraced diversion channel at Robert-Bourassa generating station was carved 30&nbsp;m (one hundred feet) deep into the side of a mountain. Water tumbles from the reservoir to the river below at a height greater than that of Niagara Falls. A {{convert|4,800|km|mi|abbr=on}} network of transmission lines was necessary to bring generated power to consumers in southern Quebec. The network contains several 735-kilovolt lines and one 450-kilovolt DC line directly linked to the U.S. power grid.