As Canada faces a potentially massive increase in electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, questions are emerging over whether power supply can keep pace and who will pay for the infrastructure needed to support them.
A single major data centre project under construction in Alberta, for example, could eventually require about 30 percent more electricity than the entire city of Edmonton.
Who pays the costs of that expansion will depend mainly on whether data centre operators are required to pay for the additional generation and grid infrastructure they require, and whether electricity supply can keep pace with demand. The issue is also largely dependent on the jurisdiction and the electricity regulatory frameworks in place….