Canadian province British Columbia has moved to ban new cryptocurrency mining projects, tightening control over how its clean electricity is used and ensuring the province’s vast hydroelectric power benefits higher-value industries.
The province’s energy ministry said on Monday that BC Hydro, a government-owned utility, will no longer accept new grid connection requests for crypto mining.
Future grid connections will be prioritized for sectors like natural gas processing, hydrogen production and manufacturing. The government said cryptocurrency mining consumes a large amount of energy. However, it provides little economic benefit to the province. Officials believe that redirecting electricity to industries with higher employment and investment potential will create greater public value.
BC, a global exporter of natural resources such as lumber, minerals and hydropower, plans to redirect available electricity toward industries that create more jobs and revenue for local communities.
These reforms will determine how industrial electricity is distributed across the province. They will also set rules for fast-growing, high-consumption sectors such as data centers and artificial intelligence. In early 2026, BC Hydro will begin a competitive bidding process to allocate 400 megawatts of power. Of this, 300 megawatts will go to AI projects and 100 to general data centers.
The permanent restriction is part of a broader set of energy policy reforms planned for late 2025.
