Crypto Miners Facing Energy Constraints As Canadian Provinces Ban Power to Entrants  

Manitoba is extending a halt on new power connections, while British Columbia is unveiling a law that might ban power provision to new miners.

The Canadian province of Manitoba has extended the ban on new requests to Manitoba Hydro, a government-owned agency, for electrical service for cryptocurrency activities. British Columbia (BC) also implemented a similar suspension and has opted for a different and restrictive route. 

Canadian Provinces Extend Ban to Offer Energy to New Mining Firms

The pause extension is linked to new requests by crypto miners as well as ‘requests for electric service that have not led to the implementation of an agreement to develop infrastructure.’

The provincial government halted electrical connections to crypto mining activities in 2022 for one and a half years. The pause will happen until April 30, 2026. In an announcement, the government noted that the province intends to prepare a long-lasting solution at that time. 

Additionally, it claimed that Manitoba Hydro continues to anticipate extraordinary electricity demand for expanding or new cryptocurrency activities. The demand can significantly boost the overall electric load.

In 2022, Jay Gray, the then chief of Manitoba Hydro, claimed that if they connected each cryptocurrency operator who had expressed interest in the past 16 months, they would have boosted their electrical load by 4600 megawatts. 

At that time, the organization’s overall capacity was 6100 megawatts. In November 2022, Hydro-Quebec suggested cuts to the power provision to crypto activities, while in November last year, New Brunswick barred power provision to new crypto activities.

British Columbia Revises Power Service Governance to Crypto Miners

In December 2022, BC revealed its intentions to cease making connections to new crypto miners for one and a half years. Twenty-one projects were affected by this verdict. On April 11, the British Columbia government claimed it had unveiled changes to its Utilities Commission Act to govern power service to cryptocurrency miners. 

Josie Osborn, the Provision Energy Minister, revealed they are partnering with British Columbia Hydro to ensure they have the required electricity. This entails managing electricity service for energy-intensive cryptocurrency miners that generate extremely few local jobs.

The changes would enable the British Columbia government to ban, limit, or control services to crypto miners. In North America, British Columbia’s industrial and commercial electricity rates are among the lowest.