Over five days in December 2025, more than 200 real-time simulated "grid events" were sent to the site to test the Emerald software's ability to dynamically adjust the datacentre's power consumption. Emerald AI's platform was able to adjust power use to the requested level and cut demand by up to 40% while critical workloads ran as normal.
The competitive bid process, which launched Friday, will allow B.C. Hydro to manage the grid appropriately when it comes to the fast growing high-load sectors including AI and data centres, according to Energy Minister Adrian Dix at a news conference Friday. Charlotte Mitha, B.C. Hydro's president and CEO, said that without a structured process, the power utility could easily be overwhelmed by power-intensive requests from AI and data centres.