BC Hydro 2026 Call for Demand

The grid pool is capped. Energize anyway.

BC Hydro's 2026 Call for Demand opened just ~400 MW of new capacity for data centres — heavily oversubscribed, capped at 145 MW per project. Applications closed March 9, 2026, and successful bidders won't be named until around September 2026. Whether you're waiting on that decision, already know you won't get the capacity you need, or missed the window entirely, a grid connection is no longer the only way to power your campus.

What the Call for Demand actually allocated

400 MW
Total made available (100 conventional + 300 AI), 2 years
145 MW
Hard cap per project
Sept 2026
Successful applicants notified
$25k / MW
Bid security required to apply

You may be stranded if…

  • You applied to the 2026 Call for Demand and are waiting on — or did not receive — an allocation.
  • Your project needs more than the 145 MW per-project ceiling.
  • You entered BC Hydro's interconnection queue after the eligibility cut-off, or missed the March 9 window.
  • Your load is real and financeable, but the grid capacity simply is not there for years.

The behind-the-meter answer

GRECO builds the power the grid can't give you in time — and turns your load into a grid and community asset.

Behind-the-meter generation

On-site power on your side of the meter — so the campus energizes on your timeline, not the utility's multi-year queue.

Grid-scale storage

Lithium and vanadium-flow storage firm the load and let compute flex against grid signals — a grid asset, not a grid burden.

District-heat export

Recovered 50 °C heat metered into neighbourhood energy — the community-benefit and environmental outcome BC's process rewards.

Still aligned with what BC rewards

BC evaluates projects on data sovereignty, jobs, environmental impact, community benefit and First Nations involvement. An energy-first campus meets those criteria whether the electrons come from the grid, on-site generation, or both.

Environmental impact

Clean power stacks + ~97% heat recovery that displaces gas heating in nearby buildings.

Community benefit & First Nations

Heat export to local district energy, and equity-partnership models aligned with BC's allocation priorities.

Data sovereignty & jobs

Canadian-sited, Canadian-operated campuses with local construction and operations employment.

BC Hydro Call for Demand: common questions

It is a competitive selection process BC Hydro launched in 2026 to allocate a limited pool of new electricity capacity to emerging industries — principally AI and data centres. For the two-year period beginning February 1, 2026, BC Hydro made available roughly 100 MW for conventional data centres and 300 MW for AI data centres, with no single project allowed more than 145 MW. Initial applications closed March 9, 2026 (with $25,000/MW bid security), and successful applicants are expected to be notified around September 2026.

A grid allocation is no longer the only path to energizing a campus. Because demand for the 2026 Call for Demand far exceeds the ~400 MW available, many financeable projects will not receive capacity — or will need more than the 145 MW per-project cap. Those projects can still be built by generating power behind the meter: on-site generation plus grid-scale storage lets a campus energize on the developer's timeline instead of waiting years in the interconnection queue.

With behind-the-meter power. GRECO develops energy-first campuses where on-site generation, grid-scale battery storage and liquid cooling are engineered in from day one, so compute does not wait on grid capacity. Where clean utility power is available it is used; where it is not, the campus generates its own — and exports recovered heat to district energy. You offtake finished, powered capacity from one counterparty.

For the two years from February 1, 2026, BC Hydro was restricted to about 100 MW of new capacity for conventional data centres and 300 MW for AI data centres (plus any unused conventional capacity), with a 145 MW ceiling per project. Against the volume of AI and data-centre demand in the province, that pool is heavily oversubscribed.

It fits them well. BC weighs applications on data sovereignty, job creation, environmental impact, community benefit and First Nations involvement. An energy-first campus that recovers ~97% of its heat and exports it to neighbourhood energy, firms the local grid with storage, and is built with First Nations equity partnership speaks directly to those criteria — whether the power comes from the grid, on-site generation, or both.

Didn't win an allocation? Let's energize your project anyway.

Tell us your load, location and timeline and we'll map it to a GRECO behind-the-meter campus.

Sources & further reading

Government of British Columbia• 2026

B.C. launches competitive process for clean power in high-demand sectors

BC Hydro• 2026

BC Hydro 2026 Call for Demand for Emerging Industries — Request for Applications

Data Center Dynamics• 2026

British Columbia, BC Hydro launch competitive power process for AI and data centers