A new provincial legislation in British Columbia requires data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) companies to participate in a competitive bid process to access electricity from B.C. Hydro. This initiative aims to help B.C. Hydro manage the grid effectively, especially in the rapidly growing high-load sectors like AI and data centers. Energy Minister Adrian Dix and B.C. Hydro’s president and CEO, Charlotte Mitha, emphasized the importance of this structured process to prevent overwhelming power-intensive requests that could impact affordability and reliability for customers.
Under the new legislation, the initial phase will involve projects competing for 400 megawatts of electricity over two years. Minister Dix highlighted that this amount, equivalent to about 35% of the power from the Site C dam, is substantial and aims to avoid chaos that a first-come, first-serve system might bring. The bids will be evaluated based on various criteria, such as data sovereignty, environmental benefits, First Nations involvement, and pricing, to ensure electricity allocation to industries offering the most significant advantages.
Canadian companies are expected to have an edge in the bidding process, according to Minister Dix. Concerns have been raised regarding the water supply impact of data centers due to their cooling system requirements. To address this issue, projects promoting heat recovery, water efficiency, and other energy-saving measures will receive preference in the competitive selection.
Meanwhile, traditional sectors like mining, LNG, forestry, and manufacturing will continue under their current processes without the need to bid. Existing projects that are well-progressed will be exempted from the new rules. However, the B.C. Conservative Party has criticized the government’s electricity allocation approach, labeling it as “rationing” and accused the government of favoring certain industries over others.
Applications for the bidding process are open until March 18, with decisions expected to be finalized by early fall. This move is part of the government’s strategy to ensure a balanced and sustainable allocation of electricity resources in the province.