British Columbia Opens 400MW Power Competition for AI Data Center Projects
British Columbia will require most new AI and data center projects to compete for access to clean electricity, as the province moves to manage a surge in power demand from energy-intensive computing.
BC Hydro and the Province of British Columbia said Friday the new competitive process is intended to prevent the grid from being overwhelmed by large, high-load requests from AI and data center developers while protecting affordability and reliability for existing customers.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix said a first-come, first-served system would be unworkable as demand from AI accelerates.
“A first-come, first-serve system, if you’re not able to provide for it, if you’re not doing it in a planned way, that’s just chaos,” Dix said at a news conference. “That doesn’t bring investment.”
BC Hydro President and CEO Charlotte Mitha said the utility could “easily be overwhelmed” without a structured process.
“If we had to serve every request exactly as it arrives, affordability [and] reliability could be affected for customers that we serve every day in B.C.,” Mitha said.
Under the framework, AI and data center developers will bid for up to 400 megawatts of electricity over the first two years. Dix said the amount represents roughly 35% of the output from the Site C hydroelectric dam and described it as a significant allocation, rather than a constraint on the industry.
Projects will be evaluated based on price as well as broader criteria, including economic impact, data sovereignty, environmental performance and participation by First Nations. Dix said Canadian companies would generally have an advantage in the process given the emphasis on domestic data control and local benefits.
The province also said projects that demonstrate efficiency measures — including heat recovery, lower water use and other energy-saving technologies — will be favored. Water consumption has become a growing concern around AI data centers, many of which rely on cooling systems that can strain local water supplies.
The competitive process applies only to AI and data centers. Traditional sectors such as mining, forestry, liquefied natural gas and manufacturing will continue to access electricity under existing rules. Projects already well advanced in BC Hydro’s interconnection queue will be allowed to proceed under the previous system if required agreements or deposits are in place.
Interest in British Columbia has been rising as companies look to expand AI infrastructure in Canada. Bell Canada has said it plans to launch six AI data centers in the province, while some bitcoin mining operators are transitioning facilities toward AI workloads as demand shifts.
The move comes as utilities across North America face mounting pressure from AI-driven electricity demand. In the United States, grid operators have warned that large data center interconnection requests are straining generation and transmission capacity, prompting longer timelines and renewed scrutiny of how power is allocated among competing industries.
In British Columbia, the policy has drawn political pushback. The B.C. Conservative Party said the government is effectively rationing electricity and picking “winners and losers,” arguing the province lacks sufficient firm generation and transmission infrastructure to meet rising demand.
Applications for the competitive process will close on March 18, with decisions expected by early fall.
