In an effort to crack down on Bitcoin mining, British Columbia is considering amending the Utilities Commission Act, which could prohibit utility services.
Despite the substantial advancements and expansion of the Bitcoin mining sector in the past year, the province of British Columbia in Canada chooses to look the other way.
Legislators in British Columbia are contemplating establishing cryptocurrency mining operations due to their excessive electricity consumption.
British Columbia Cracks Down On Crypto Mining
On Thursday, April 11, Josie Osborne, the Energy Minister of British Columbia, made a public statement indicating that the province has no intention of undertaking any further large-scale initiatives to support private cryptocurrency miners.
Conversely, the emphasis is on establishing an adequate electricity infrastructure to sustain the province in conjunction with BC Hydro in the coming years.
Osborne underscored the criticality of electricity service regulation for energy-intensive cryptocurrency processors, citing the limited employment opportunities they generate locally.
The abundant hydroelectric energy resources in British Columbia have become the focus of Bitcoin mining operations, characterized by the continuous operation of sophisticated computer arrays.
The province ceased all new crypto connections at the end of 2022, suspending twenty-one projects that would have required energy equivalent to more than two Site C projects annually.
The provincial court sided with the province and BC Hydro earlier this year when it denied a company’s request to authorize supplementary power connections for cryptocurrency firms. In February, the Honorable Michael Tammen stated:
“Devoting such a large proportion of the available electrical power supply to one industry would leave less energy for other uses, which might result in increased costs to all other residential and industry customers in BC.”
Will BC Ban Bitcoin Mining?
Potentially encompassing outright prohibitions, the province is contemplating amending the Utilities Commission Act to mandate stringent regulations on utility services utilized in cryptocurrency mining operations.
BC Hydro has revealed that, at present, it supplies electricity to seven cryptocurrency mining enterprises situated in British Columbia, with a combined power consumption of 166 megawatts.
This energy consumption will likely increase with the impending Bitcoin halving, as miners will likely deploy more BTC machines to mine new blocks.
However, the Bitcoin industry has also provided the respective regions substantial revenue.
Paraguay, which was contemplating a prohibition on Bitcoin mining earlier this week, has since abandoned the idea.
