BRC-Canada feedback on the AESO's Bring Your Own Generation process

Alberta wants to become a destination for AI data centres, and the rules for powering them will shape how fast and how cleanly that happens. In July 2026, BRC-Canada submitted feedback to the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) on Phase 2A of its Large Load Integration work. This phase is the Bring Your Own Generation (BYOG) process, which requires new data centres to supply their own power.

As drafted, BYOG only accepts thermal generation. BRC-Canada recommends a technology-agnostic, performance-based standard instead. That standard would be publicly available, and developers could use it to show that hybrid wind, solar and storage projects meet the AESO's reliability requirements. The submission cites several precedents for that approach: capacity accreditation methods in PJM, ERCOT and MISO, Ireland's renewable energy requirement for new data centres, and Ontario's latest capacity procurement, which went entirely to battery storage. At minimum, BRC-Canada asks that 8-hour energy storage be eligible.

The feedback also recommends three further changes. Data centres should be able to tether to multiple new generation projects. Congested renewable and storage facilities should count as underutilized assets. Where grid capacity is tight, the AESO should procure transmission-connected storage. Gas turbine supply chains are constrained, and operators like Meta and Google have committed to clean energy. Given both, a more flexible BYOG process could lower costs and help Alberta win investment that is already moving around the world.