B.C. Energy Minister, pictured in Vancouver in July, introduced Bill 31 on Monday, which seeks to change the rules around industrial electricity delivery.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
British Columbia plans to prioritize natural resource development over the emerging industries of artificial intelligence and data centres through a new law that would scrap an obligation to provide electricity equally to all industrial customers.
Cryptocurrency mining – another sector with large electricity demands – would be banned.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix introduced Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendments Act, on Monday. The bill would enable construction of the $6-billion North Coast Transmission Line, which is meant to secure new private-sector investments, including a string of critical-mineral mines, for the sparsely developed northwest corner of the province.
BC Hydro, the Crown corporation with a virtual monopoly on the province’s electricity grid, is required to serve any customer within its service territory that is willing and able to take service. Service is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
Under the proposed allocation system, BC Hydro would connect new industrial customers based on criteria such as their contribution to the provincial economy.
The changes acknowledge that the province’s vast hydroelectric network is reaching the limits of its capacity.
Despite the completion of the Site C megadam and a recent move by BC Hydro to purchase private power, there will not be enough electricity to accommodate all new requests.
Under the proposed law, new natural resource and manufacturing projects would not be restricted, and the industrial rate for electricity is not set to change. However, starting next year, the province will open up bidding for artificial intelligence and data centres that will be capped at a total of 400 megawatts of power over a two-year period. Prices will be set by regulation.
By contrast, Alberta has set a target to have $100-billion worth of AI data centres under construction within the next five years.