The short answer
Public maps do not establish available MW at a BC property. Use infrastructure evidence to identify the next utility enquiry, then obtain project-specific confirmation of capacity, works, commercial terms and timing. Atlas does not assign a power-availability probability.
Use nearby infrastructure to frame the enquiry.
A mapped substation or line can help orient early research. It may indicate a network corridor worth discussing. It does not reveal every operational limit, committed load, protection requirement or feasible connection arrangement.
BC Hydro publishes bulk and regional transmission maps. Its mapping page also directs organizations seeking detailed GIS data to ICI Society membership and describes weekly mapping updates there. A public map and a licensed operational dataset therefore have different scope and access conditions. Source: BC Hydro transmission maps.
Ask separately about the physical connection route, capacity at the required service level, reinforcement scope and the delivery programme. A short straight-line distance can still involve difficult road, rail, watercourse or land crossings. A longer route may be workable; the map alone cannot settle the comparison.
Check the connection process before the site economics.
As checked on October 23, 2026: BC Hydro’s 2026 Call for Demand initial application deadline was March 9, 2026. The published timetable says outcome notifications are expected after the government transition period later in the year. The intake should not be presented as open. Source: BC Hydro emerging industries connections.
BC Hydro’s current questions and answers say projects below 10 MW do not need to participate in that Call for Demand, while an incremental increase of 10 MW or more after the regulation date does. Covered requests at or above 10 MW—including some conversions of an existing powered facility—need careful eligibility review. Success in the Call for Demand allows a project to proceed through interconnection; it does not guarantee capacity. Source: BC Hydro Call for Demand questions and answers.
Confirm the actual supplier, existing agreements, facility classification and expansion plan with the utility. The regulation contains separate provisions for new service, existing customers, queue status, incremental demand and wholesale supply. Do not assume that a location in another supplier’s territory, or phasing a larger development, establishes an exemption. Source: B.C. Regulation 8/2026.
Atlas’s micro, small and large labels are planning presets. They are not utility classifications or policy determinations. A smaller request still needs a site-specific capacity assessment.
Keep IT load, utility demand and annual energy separate.
MW describes power at a point in time. MWh describes energy over time. One gigawatt is 1,000 MW. A sub-1 MW pilot therefore belongs in the megawatt range, not the gigawatt range.
The IT load is the computing equipment’s electrical demand. The facility also uses power for cooling and other supporting systems. Requested utility capacity can include planned headroom; it should not automatically be treated as a continuously consumed load.
For the default small profile, 4 MW IT × 1.25 PUE × 85% load factor × 8,760 hours gives 37,230 MWh/year. Increasing the utility reservation without changing the IT operating assumptions does not increase that energy calculation. A rate comparison must also consider demand charges, eligibility, ratchets, riders, connection works and any applicable allocation terms.
A stronger first enquiry to the utility.
Give the utility one coherent brief rather than a map pin and a headline capacity. Include:
- The property identifiers, site boundary, preferred connection area and evidence of site control.
- Initial and ultimate demand, ramp schedule, IT and facility load assumptions, target service date and operating pattern.
- Proposed use, existing service details, planned changes of use, and any prior utility correspondence.
- Firm or flexible load needs, curtailment tolerance, redundancy objectives and power-quality characteristics.
- Questions on the required studies, network works, land rights, costs and decision sequence.
Keep the utility’s response with its date, scope and conditions. A preliminary discussion, feasibility study and executed service agreement represent different levels of evidence. Later changes to the development brief may require the answer to be revisited.
What Atlas contributes.
Atlas organizes mapped infrastructure, public-source context and project assumptions into a repeatable screen. It can show nearby mapped transmission and substations, identify missing attributes and calculate a dated energy or tariff scenario. It keeps available MW, a confirmed service date and a probability of connection out of the public-data conclusion.
That makes the report useful as a briefing document: what is known, what is only modelled and which utility question should come next. Compare all three planning profiles or inspect the sample report.
Go beyond the public map.
Explore Atlas with public data first. When a candidate deserves a closer look, Driftwood’s separate $7,500 CAD Site Feasibility & Concept Design engagement adds a human-reviewed report and 25 hours of design consultation and concept work, additional to report preparation.
Review authorized private and paid data sources, where available, alongside the public screen, including licensed property or utility data and authorized utility or carrier responses where permitted. Check their source, date, site and project scope, reconcile the findings and turn confirmed items and unresolved questions into concepts and a next-step plan.
Record availability, permissions and any third-party fees are agreed before work begins.
Published by Atlas by Driftwood. Sources checked October 23, 2026. Editorial status: public-source guidance; this is not a project-specific reviewed report, engineering opinion or utility decision. Linked publishers remain authoritative for their current information. Suggest a correction or discuss a site.