British Columbia authorities halt power supply to new bitcoin mining firms

British Columbia authorities have suspended electricity supply to new bitcoin (BTC) mining firms in the region for 18 months. Existing crypto miners are not affected by the move.

No room for new bitcoin miners

The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro), has announced that electricity supply to new bitcoin (BTC) mining facilities in the region will be suspended for 18 months. 

The authorities have made it clear that the move is aimed at sustaining the city’s clean energy supply, while also giving authorities time to engage with crypto miners and formulate a lasting framework for bitcoin mining operations in the area.

Per a statement by Josie Osborne, British Columbia’s Minister of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation, crypto mining activities in the region consume a huge amount of electricity and the data centers provide very few jobs to residents. 

“We are suspending electricity connection requests from crypto mining operators to preserve our electricity supply for people who are switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps, and for businesses and industries that are undertaking electrification projects that reduce carbon emissions and generate jobs and economic opportunities,” he added.

Bitcoin miners face hard times 

2022 has been quite a difficult year for the global financial ecosystem and the bitcoin mining industry is also feeling the brunt of crypto winter, with bitcoin mining revenue and hash rate witnessing significant declines in recent months.

As reported last month, Core Scientific, the largest publicly-traded bitcoin mining company in the United States recorded a $400 million quarterly loss, taking its total losses for 2022 alone to a staggering $1.7 billion.

Asides from the gloomy market conditions which have seen the bitcoin (BTC) price crash by more than 70 percent since its all-time high of nearly $70k in late 2021, authorities from across various jurisdictions are increasingly waging war against BTC miners.

Earlier this month, Canada’s state of Manitoba placed an 18-month moratorium on new bitcoin mining operations in the area.

At the time of writing, the price of BTC is down by 4.68 percent in the 7-day time frame, hovering around the $18,851 region, with a market cap of $324.23 billion according to trackers.