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ARTICLE · 13 JULY 2026

Data Centre Regulation In British Columbia – Competing For A Limited Supply

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
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British Columbia has introduced significant legislative changes that impose strict limits on electrical capacity for new data centre projects, fundamentally altering how these facilities can access power in the province. Starting February 1, 2026, BC Hydro can allocate only 100 MW for conventional data centres and 300 MW for AI data centres over a two-year period, with a 145 MW cap per project. These modest allocations, distributed through a competitive process, will substantially constrain data centre grow

CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
Rick Williams
Rick Williams
Braeden Stang
Braeden Stang
Jennifer Archer
Jennifer Archer
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British Columbia recently introduced legislative amendments that will restrict the electrical capacity available for new data centre projects within the Province. As of Feb. 1, 2026, the allocation of new electrical capacity for data centre purposes in British Columbia is subject to system-wide aggregate limits that are allocated under a competitive process administered by the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro).

As outlined below, these limits are both quantitative and structural in nature. For the two-year period starting Feb. 1, 2026, BC Hydro is restricted to making available a total of 100 MW of new electricity capacity for conventional data centre purposes and 300 MW of new electricity capacity (plus any unused capacity from the conventional data centre limit) for AI data centre purposes. Further, no single project can be allocated more than 145 MW of capacity.

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