The provincial electricity supplier Hydro-Québec approached the regional regulator Regie de l’energie with a proposal to suspend electricity supply to the blockchain industry.
The distribution plan envisaged supplying around 270 MW to the sector. However, due to growing demand, \”allocating such a volume of power would put pressure on current balances,\” the supplier said.
\”In the power-supply plan for 2023-2032, submitted to Regie de l’energie, Hydro-Québec expects demand for electricity in Quebec to rise by 25 TWh or 14% over the period,\” the statement said.
The supplier did not disclose which companies would be affected by the restriction. There was no word on the regulator’s response.
The Canadian province is known for cheap hydroelectricity. It drew the attention of miners after reports about entrepreneur Jonathan Bertrane, who converted a warehouse on the outskirts of Montreal into a full-fledged “farm” with 50 computers for cryptocurrency mining.
In 2018, Quebec authorities imposed a moratorium on issuing permits to miners amid an unprecedented level of demand. Later, Hydro-Québec unveiled a plan to lift the restrictions.
In May 2019, authorities devised new mining rules under which industry players would receive an additional 300 MW from the state-owned energy company.
Earlier, in October 2022, Moldova’s Emergency Situations Commission banned cryptocurrency mining due to an energy crisis.
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