MP calls on New Brunswick to reject proposed AI data centre in open letter to premier

A New Brunswick member of Parliament is calling on the provincial government to reject a proposed artificial intelligence data centre in Saint John, warning that it could overwhelm the power grid.

Conservative MP John Williamson says the proposed AI centre will trigger electricity rate hikes for nearby residents.

Williamson says the public utility NB Power lacks the necessary capacity to handle the facility’s demand for 200 megawatts from the grid.

He laid out his opposition to Beacon Data Centers’ project in a letter to Liberal Premier Susan Holt.

The New Brunswick Southwest MP also criticized Holt for highlighting the data centre project at a major Toronto investment summit earlier this week, even though it hasn’t received provincial government approval.

The New Brunswick government says any new data centre must pay for the costs it creates and cannot lead to higher electricity rates.

Beacon AI says its project requires 390 megawatts of energy and that it could produce up to 190 megawatts on site.

Williamson said the company wasn’t interested in generating all of its own power.

“I met with them and I raised this and they balked,” he told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday, referencing a meeting he had with the company a several months ago.

That’s why, he said, he wants the province “playing hardball” with companies that want to build data centres so that ratepayers are shielded from major price hikes.