- A group of new laws meant to boost the economy and assist the state-owned power company BC Hydro with its electricity availability were unveiled.
- The president and CEO of BC Hydro, Charlotte Mitha, said that the province’s plan enables BC Hydro to appropriately manage this development.
Given the extraordinary demand for electricity, the provincial government of British Columbia has decided to prohibit the installation of any new crypto mining connections to the hydro power grid.
A group of new laws meant to boost the economy and assist the state-owned power company BC Hydro with its electricity availability were unveiled Monday by the government of British Columbia (BC).
Mining, natural gas, and LNG are among of British Columbia’s long-standing natural resource industries, and the province is also well-positioned to take advantage of new prospects in data centers and AI. It said that having access to clean, dependable power at a competitive industrial cost is crucial to the success of planned large-scale projects.
Data Centers and AI are New Beneficiaries
A permanent “ban on new BC Hydro connections to the electricity grid” for crypto miners and “limits on the power available for data centers and AI” are two components of the regulatory reforms set to take effect in the autumn of 2025.
Both established and new markets are showing extraordinary interest. The president and CEO of BC Hydro, Charlotte Mitha, said that the province’s plan enables BC Hydro to appropriately manage this development, ensuring a clean and affordable energy future and a dependable grid.
More than 5 million people, or around 95% of the area population, get their electricity from BC Hydro, the region’s primary power source (according to its website).
Data centers and artificial intelligence were the beneficiaries of the BC government’s more optimistic view than cryptocurrency mining; the province aims to assist the development of these two new industries “in a manner that results in the greatest benefit to people in British Columbia.”
Background info in the notice explains that crypto miners are prohibited from establishing new hydro grid connections because of the “disproportionate energy consumption and limited economic benefit” that the industry provides.
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