The Vancouver Sun reports in its Wednesday edition that cryptocurrency player Conifex Timber has lost a bid to force BC Hydro to provide the vast amounts of power needed for its operations. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Sun says that the court ruling upholds the province's right to pause power connections for new crypto miners. Conifex, a forestry company that branched out into cryptocurrency mining, had gone to the B.C. Supreme Court to have the policy declared invalid. Justice Michael Tammen ruled Friday that the government's move in December, 2022, to pause new connections for cryptocurrency mining for 18 months was reasonable and not unduly discriminatory. BC Hydro chief executive officer Christopher O'Riley had told the court in an affidavit that the data centres proposed by Conifex would have consumed 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity a year -- enough to power and heat more than 570,000 apartments. Energy Minister Josie Osborne said when the policy was introduced that cryptocurrency mining consumes "massive amounts of electricity" by running banks of high-powered computers around the clock, but adds "very few jobs" to the local economy. Conifex says it was "disappointed" in the ruling and may appeal.