National

B.C. seeks to regulate electricity for cryptocurrency miners, citing huge demands

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Apr, 2024 04:10 PM

British Columbia is proposing legal changes that would allow the government to regulate the supply of electricity to cryptocurrency miners.

A statement from the Ministry of Energy says cryptocurrency miners consume large amounts of electricity to constantly run high-powered computers, while creating very few jobs or economic opportunities.

It says the legislative amendments would allow the government to prohibit or restrict provision of electricity to cryptocurrency miners because "unchecked growth" of the sector could make it challenging and more costly to provide electricity to homes and other businesses.

The province directed the BC Utilities Commission in December 2022 to suspend new electricity connections for cryptocurrency mining for 18 months.

The statement says 21 projects, requesting a total of 11,700 gigawatt hours of power per year, were temporarily suspended from receiving power.

It says that amount of electricity is more than double what the new Site C dam will be able to generate.

Proposed changes also include amendments to repeal sections of the Clean Energy Act used to create the former government's Standing Offer Program to buy electricity.

The statement says purchases under the program, which was suspended in 2019, were made at well above market rates.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Winter weather settles in over B.C. with warning of treacherous roads, avalanche risk

British Columbia's government is warning residents of treacherous roads, cold temperatures and dangerous avalanche conditions as the year's first blast of winter settles in. The Ministry of Emergency Management said after a warm start to winter, the forecast has returned to what is more seasonal and will remain that way for the days and weeks ahead.

Winter weather settles in over B.C. with warning of treacherous roads, avalanche risk

16 cars damaged in Saanich

Police in Greater Victoria are investigating a recent string of vehicle vandalism and asking for the public's help to identify a suspect. They say 16 vehicles were vandalized in Saanich over a week between December 29th and last Friday, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars' worth of damages.

16 cars damaged in Saanich

Volunteer search and rescue leaders allege mistreatment by B.C. government

The former head of the B.C. Search and Rescue Association says the group's volunteer personnel have been bullied, threatened and disrespected by the province's Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.

Volunteer search and rescue leaders allege mistreatment by B.C. government

RCMP to begin collecting, analyzing race-based data in pilot project

The RCMP says it will begin collecting race-based data in select locations this month to better understand interactions between police and people in various communities. The pilot project follows two years of consultations across Canada.

RCMP to begin collecting, analyzing race-based data in pilot project

NASA delays Artemis II moon mission that includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen

NASA says it will be delaying the Artemis II moon mission that includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, initially scheduled for November of this year. The U.S. space agency provided an update today on the timeline for the upcoming mission around the moon and said it will be pushed back to September 2025 due to a number of technical issues and to allow more preparation time.

NASA delays Artemis II moon mission that includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen

B.C. launches Canada's first self-screening cervical cancer plan, with at-home tests

British Columbia is phasing out the pap test for cancer screening in favour of mail-in kits collected by patients. The government says trials have shown that screening for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, is more effective at finding pre-cancerous lesions compared with the pap test.