B.C. says AI and data centre projects must compete for power in new selection process

British Columbia’s government is launching a competitive selection process for artificial intelligence and data centre projects that would see companies fight over a set amount of power. 

B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix said companies that apply could gain access to a total of 400 megawatts of electricity over a two-year period.

“The new approach (prioritizes projects) that support long-term economic, environmental, community and data sovereignty benefits,” Dix told a news conference Friday.

He added the requirement does not apply to traditional industries like liquefied natural gas, forestry or mining. 

The selection process will allow the government to manage high demand for electricity by limiting the power certain industries can access, he said.

Dix said the announcement is in response to climbing electricity rates in certain U.S. states, which some experts attribute to the power demand from new and planned data centres. 

A competitive process awarding companies that offer the most economic and environmental benefits is the right path forward, Dix said. 

“That shows that we’ve learned from other jurisdictions that have had an extremely negative economic effect,” he said.

Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said the new process will attract investment from AI and data centres and create tech jobs. 

BC Hydro says demand for electricity in B.C. is set to increase by 15 per cent or more by 2030. 

BC Hydro CEO Charlotte Mitha said, without a structured process, “we could easily be overwhelmed by the AI and data centre power-intensive requests that come in.”

“The competitive process gives emerging proponents a very fair and transparent path forward while allowing us to manage the demand responsibly,” she said Friday.

In a press release Friday, the B.C. Conservative Party said the government is “rationing” electricity and picking “winners and losers” through its competitive selection process. 

“It avoids the root problem: British Columbia does not have enough firm, affordable power to meet growing demand,” the party’s BC Hydro and electric self-sufficiency critic David Williams said in the release. 

The party said there isn’t enough power generation or transmission infrastructure to meet the demand from AI and other sectors, and that industries such as forestry face unreliable access to power in the province. 

“Limiting access to electricity will delay or cancel data centre construction, force approved projects to pay higher rates, and shift more risk onto ratepayers as scarcity replaces long-term planning,” the statement from the B.C. Conservatives said, describing the announcement as “triaging a power shortage.”

During his remarks on Friday, Dix acknowledged B.C. needs more power amid rising demand for electricity in the province. 

He said 400 megawatts over two years “is a lot of power,” noting B.C.’s Site C dam project has the capacity to produce 1100 megawatts.

Dix added that the competitive process will ensure that the approved projects will create the maximum benefit for the provincial economy, B.C.’s data sovereignty and the environment.

The government put out calls for power in 2024 and 2025 in an effort to secure electricity purchase agreements. 

It permanently banned new BC Hydro connections to the electricity grid for cryptocurrency mining, because “unchecked growth” in the sector was making it harder and more expensive to provide electricity to homes and other businesses.

Applications for the selection process are open until March 18, but projects that are already in development will proceed without having to apply. 

The government said it expects to notify successful applicants in late summer or early fall. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2026.