Alberta Government Ponders Sweeping Changes to Support AI Data Centres

The Alberta government is considering rewriting legislation and creating government-owned corporations to pave the way for AI data centres and increased oil production, according to a leaked document. The document, labeled a 'cabinet report,' was prepared for the Energy and Minerals Ministry and scheduled to be presented to a high-level cabinet policy committee on September 10.

The proposals include taking regulatory control of natural gas pipeline transmission networks away from the federal Canada Energy Regulator, creating a Crown corporation to guide pipeline construction based on government forecasting, and another Crown corporation to oversee or build its own pipelines. This would give the government the power to direct private companies to build pipelines and make it a competitor to companies like TC Energy.

The document argues that these measures are necessary to rapidly build natural gas pipeline capacity and support data centre growth, which the government's strategy encourages through the use of natural gas for power generation. However, the moves could cost Albertans hundreds of millions or even billions to help support power for AI data centres.