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B.C. Government Consolidates Power Over Energy Grid

New energy legislation ⁤is making critics uneasy as the B.C. government again moves to consolidate its authority to expedite major projects – or to⁣ hold them back.

Warning of the “insatiable demand for power” from artificial intelligence (AI), data⁣ centres and cryptocurrency mining, Energy⁢ and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix is justifying the moves by arguing⁤ the government must ⁤act now to limit access to the electrical ⁤grid.

“We have a massive ⁢demand,” he said. “Everywhere – in‍ every electricity system in the world.”

Meanwhile, he is working to electrify the far reaches of B.C. to support natural resource ⁢extraction.

Critics argue this duality means the government is deciding who gets electricity and who doesn’t – and is undermining the decision-making authority of the B.C. Utilities⁤ Commission in the process.

“The government is choosing winners and losers,” said Larry Neufeld, B.C. Conservative critic for Oil, Natural Gas and Energy. “As far⁣ as projects are concerned, ⁢my opinion is that the market should decide.”

Dix contends that the government is simply setting the criteria for who gets to use B.C.’s hydropower and trying to ensure large,power-hungry industrial operations also provide ⁣jobs if they ⁢are to connect to the ⁢grid.

“We⁢ have to have a system in place to manage requests,” he said.

His new energy bill, introduced in⁢ the legislature on Oct. 20, is⁣ “enabling” legislation, meaning it allows the government to take specific future actions, but doesn’t take action in and of itself.

The ⁤bill enables BC Hydro to set different electricity rates for ⁣each use, and bars new hookups for cryptocurrency mining. It also allows BC Hydro to hold an open bidding⁤ process⁤ for companies that want to power AI or data centres.

The government is concurrently introducing regulatory changes to fast-track the North⁤ Coast transmission line, which is to stretch across northern B.C. and feed electricity to liquefied natural‍ gas (LNG) and critical⁤ mineral projects.

These regulations expedite the line’s construction by ‍deeming it⁤ in the⁤ public interest,which exempts⁤ it from a B.C. Utilities commission oversight⁤ process. Dix says this will save as ⁣much as 18⁤ months.

What the‍ critics are saying

B.C. Conservatives are fine with⁢ the idea ⁤of powering LNG and mines, but want the market to decide who gets power and how. In this view, if tech companies want to build‍ data‍ centres, then so be it.

“We can scale very quickly,” neufeld said.⁣ “And why would we not bring that high-tech market, and why would we not bring those jobs?”

Neufeld also said he is not too keen on using a large ‍amount of government funds – an estimated $6 billion just for‍ the first two of three phases – for an electrical line. He ⁤says that the same amount of electricity could come from local LNG power plants.

“These plants⁤ could be purchased nearly off the shelf,” he said. “We could generate that electricity in a very short period of time.”

On the other side of the spectrum, the B.C. Greens worry that the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) is being sidelined, allowing the government, via the cabinet, to decide who gets electricity and who doesn’t.

“We fundamentally have a problem with rem