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A few things on the history that often comes up, but I didn't see mentioned in the article:

I thought Quebec had pushed this high voltage technology in the 1960s. (I can't find the source on this at the moment...)

Buckminster Fuller also popularized the idea of an integrated world electric grid in the 1970s and in his book "Critical Path".

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Quebec indeed pioneered the first multi-terminal HVDC line and it’s still in use today (it goes all the way from the James Bay project to Massachusetts). It’s a very cool system.

I gave a talk about it here: https://github.com/pirate/quebec-power-grid-talk

I remember learning about it as a kid and I remember the ice storm in '98. I enjoyed the talk--well done!

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