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Volume 67, No. 12

163/2024

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

July 2, 2024

B.C. Reg. 163/2024 , deposited June 28, 2024, under the UTILITIES COMMISSION ACT [section 21.1]. Order in Council 373/2024, approved and ordered June 28, 2024.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that the attached Cryptocurrency Power Regulation is made.

— J. OSBORNE, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation ; G. HEYMAN, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

CRYPTOCURRENCY POWER REGULATION

Contents

Definitions

Authority prohibited from supplying service for new cryptocurrency projects

Definitions

1 In this regulation:

"Act" means the Utilities Commission Act ;

"design deposit" , in relation to a project, means a payment to the authority to cover all or a portion of the estimated costs of designing upgrades to the authority’s electric distribution system that would be necessary to connect the project to the authority’s electric distribution system;

"facilities study agreement" , in relation to a project, means an agreement between the authority and the project proponent that

(

a) is in the form of agreement commonly referred to by the authority as a "facilities study agreement", and

(

b) provides for an evaluation by the authority of the work that would be necessary to connect the project to the authority’s transmission system, including engagement with First Nations, engineering, procurement and construction;

"new high-voltage cryptocurrency project" means a project to mine cryptocurrency

(

a) that would receive from the authority an electricity supply of 60 kV or higher, and

(

b) in relation to which the authority has not entered into a facilities study agreement before December 28, 2022;

"new low-voltage cryptocurrency project" means

(

a) a project to mine cryptocurrency

(

i) for which the project proponent requests at least 2.5 megawatts of power,

(ii) to which power would be supplied through a 12.5 kV connection to the authority’s electric distribution system, and

(iii) in relation to which a design deposit has not been received by the authority before December 28, 2022, or

(

b) a project to mine cryptocurrency

(

i) for which the project proponent requests at least 5 megawatts of power,

(ii) to which power would be supplied through a 25 kV connection to the authority’s electric distribution system, and

(iii) in relation to which a design deposit has not been received by the authority before December 28, 2022;

"paused project" means a new high-voltage cryptocurrency project that is the subject of one of the following agreements:

(

a) the system impact study agreement dated December 1, 2021;

(

b) the system impact study agreement dated January 28, 2022;

(

c) the system impact study agreement dated June 15, 2022;

(

d) the system impact study agreement dated June 20, 2022;

"system impact study agreement" , in relation to a project, means an agreement between the authority and the project proponent that

(

a) is in the form of agreement commonly referred to by the authority as a "system impact study agreement", and

(

b) provides for an evaluation by the authority of

(

i) the effects on the authority’s transmission system of connecting the project to the authority’s transmission system, and

(ii) the modifications to the authority’s transmission system that would be necessary to connect the project to the authority’s transmission system, including modifications to maintain the reliability of the authority’s transmission system.

Authority prohibited from supplying service for new cryptocurrency projects

2 During the period beginning on the date this regulation comes into force and ending 18 months after that date, the authority must not do any of the following:

(

a) supply service to a person for the purpose of operating a new low-voltage cryptocurrency project, including by accepting a design deposit in relation to a new low-voltage cryptocurrency project;

(

b) supply service to a person for the purpose of operating a new high-voltage cryptocurrency project, including

(

i) by entering into a system impact study agreement in relation to a new high-voltage cryptocurrency project, or

(ii) by entering into a facilities study agreement in relation to a paused project.

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