The Canadian province of Manitoba has decided to extend its moratorium on new requests for electrical service for cryptocurrency operations from the government-owned Manitoba Hydro agency. Similarly, British Columbia (BC) has also implemented a suspension of service, although it has taken a different approach that is equally restrictive.
The extension of the pause in Manitoba applies to new requests from crypto miners and “requests for electric service which have not resulted in the execution of an agreement to construct infrastructure.” Initially implemented in November 2022, the suspension of electrical connections to crypto-mining operations was set to last for 18 months. However, it has now been extended until April 30, 2026. The province intends to use this time to develop a long-term solution, as stated in an official announcement:
In 2022, the then-CEO of Manitoba Hydro, Jay Grewal, expressed concerns about the potential impact of connecting all the cryptocurrency operators who had shown interest in the previous 16 months. Grewal stated, “If we connected every cryptocurrency operator who’s shown interest in the last 16 months, we’d increase our total electrical load by 4,600 megawatts.” At that time, the organization’s total capacity was 6,100 megawatts.
Source: HYDROVISION International
In November 2022, Hydro-Québec proposed a temporary reduction in electricity provision to crypto operations. Additionally, in November 2023, New Brunswick banned the provision of electricity to new crypto operations.
In December 2022, British Columbia announced its decision to halt connections to new crypto miners for a period of 18 months. This decision affected 21 projects. On April 11, the BC government revealed that it had introduced amendments to its Utilities Commission Act to regulate electricity service for cryptocurrency miners. Provincial Energy Minister Josie Osborne provided further details:
The new amendments would grant the BC government the authority to prohibit, restrict, or regulate service to crypto miners. BC boasts some of the lowest commercial and industrial electricity rates in North America.
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