Crypto miners face denial of power, restrictions in Canadian provinces
The Canadian province of Manitoba has extended a ban on new applications for cryptocurrency operations to the state-owned Manitoba Hydro Agency's electricity utility. British Columbia (BC) had a similar service ban and chose a different but more restrictive path forward.
Manitoba's pause extension comes amid new demands for crypto miners and “electricity utility demands that haven't implemented an agreement to build infrastructure.”
In the year In November 2022, the provincial government cut off electricity connections to crypto-mining operations for 18 months. The current moratorium will last until April 30, 2026. At that time, the district plans to develop a long-term solution, he said in the announcement.
“Manitoba Hydro continues to expect unprecedented electricity demand from new or expanding cryptocurrency operations. This demand has the potential to significantly increase our total electricity load.”
In the year By 2022, Jay Grewal, CEO of Manitoba Hydro, said: “If we connected every cryptocurrency operator that showed interest in the last 16 months, we would increase our total electricity load by 4,600 megawatts. The total capacity of the company at the time was 6,100 MW.
November 2022 Hydro-Québec proposes to reduce electricity supply to crypto operations. New Brunswick bans electricity supply to new crypto operations in November 2023
RELATED: Bitcoin Miner Hat 8 Sues Ontario Power Provider
In December 2022, British Columbia announced that it would stop dealing with new crypto miners for 18 months. The decision affected 21 projects. On April 11, the BC government said it had introduced amendments to the Utilities Commission Act to regulate electricity services for cryptocurrency miners. State Energy Minister Josie Osborne said:
We are working with BC Hydro to make sure we have the electricity we need. […] And that includes deregulation of electricity for energy-intensive cryptocurrency miners that create very few local jobs.
The new amendments allow the BC government to ban, limit or regulate the use of crypto miners. BC has some of the lowest commercial and industrial electricity rates in North America.
Magazine: Crypto City: The Ultimate Guide to Vancouver
