Manitoba, a province in Canada, has extended its moratorium on new requests for electrical service from Manitoba Hydro, the government-owned agency, for cryptocurrency operations. Similarly, British Columbia (BC) also had a suspension on service, but has taken a different approach that is equally restrictive.
The extension in Manitoba applies to new requests from crypto miners and requests for electric service that have not yet resulted in the construction of infrastructure. In November 2022, the provincial government halted electrical connections for crypto-mining operations for a period of 18 months. This pause has now been extended until April 30, 2026. The province intends to devise a long-term solution by that time, as stated in an official announcement. In 2022, Jay Grewal, the former CEO of Manitoba Hydro, revealed that connecting all the interested cryptocurrency operators within the past 16 months would increase the organization’s total electrical load by 4,600 megawatts, while its total capacity at the time was 6,100 megawatts.
Source: HYDROVISION International
Hydro-Québec proposed a temporary reduction in electricity provision to crypto operations in November 2022. New Brunswick, on the other hand, banned the provision of electricity to new crypto operations in November 2023.
In December 2022, British Columbia announced that it would cease making connections for new crypto miners for a duration of 18 months. This decision affected 21 projects. On April 11, the BC government introduced amendments to its Utilities Commission Act to regulate electricity service for cryptocurrency miners. Josie Osborne, the Provincial Energy Minister, stated that these amendments would enable the BC government to prohibit, restrict, or regulate service to crypto miners. Furthermore, BC offers some of the lowest commercial and industrial electricity rates in North America.
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