The government of British Columbia in Canada has announced that the state-owned electric utility company, BC Hydro, will not accept any new electricity connection requests from cryptocurrency miners for the next 18 months.
The British Columbian government made the announcement in a report on December 21. The decision is intended to allow the government and BC Hydro, the electric utility company, to create a long-term framework that better balances the needs of cryptocurrency miners with those of residents and businesses.
The report stated:
“The temporary suspension will preserve BC’s electricity supply, while giving government and BC Hydro sufficient time to engage with industry and First Nations, and develop a permanent framework for any future cryptocurrency mining operations.”
British Columbia has witnessed an increased interest from cryptocurrency miners due to the province’s clean and affordable electricity. There are currently 21 projects requiring 1,403 megawatts in total that will be temporarily suspended. According to British Columbia, that is equivalent to the energy needed to power 2.1 million electric vehicles or around 570,000 homes per year.
According to Josie Osborne, a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, while cryptocurrency mining provides few jobs in the local economy, it consumes large amounts of electricity to run and cool banks of computers 24/7/365.
Osborne stated:
“We are suspending electricity connection requests from cryptocurrency mining operators to preserve our electricity supply for people who are switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps, and for businesses and industries that are undertaking electrification projects that reduce carbon emissions and generate jobs and economic opportunities.”
Both new cryptocurrency mining projects and those in the early phases of the connection stage with BC Hydro will be stopped from starting the connection process.
Existing cryptocurrency mining operations and projects that are very far along in the connection process with BC Hydro will not be affected. Other types of projects that do not involve cryptocurrency mining will not be affected.
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