MetricSign
EN|NLRequest Access
Medium severityresource

Power BI Refresh Error:
DbtSnowflakeWarehouseSuspendedError

What does this error mean?

The dbt-snowflake adapter connected to Snowflake but the virtual warehouse is suspended and did not auto-resume within the query timeout, causing the dbt run to fail at the first SQL execution.

Common causes

  • 1The Snowflake warehouse has AUTO_RESUME = FALSE and must be started manually
  • 2The dbt user role lacks USAGE privilege on the warehouse, preventing auto-resume
  • 3The warehouse was suspended by a resource monitor and auto-resume is blocked by policy
  • 4The connection timeout in the dbt profile is too short for the warehouse cold-start sequence

How to fix it

  1. 1Step 1: Start the warehouse manually in the Snowflake UI or run ALTER WAREHOUSE <name> RESUME;
  2. 2Step 2: Enable auto-resume: ALTER WAREHOUSE <name> SET AUTO_RESUME = TRUE;
  3. 3Step 3: Grant the dbt role USAGE on the warehouse: GRANT USAGE ON WAREHOUSE <name> TO ROLE <dbt_role>;
  4. 4Step 4: Increase the connect_timeout_secs in the dbt profile to allow time for warehouse cold-start.
  5. 5Step 5: If a resource monitor is suspending the warehouse, coordinate with the Snowflake admin to exclude the dbt warehouse from the monitor or raise the credit limit.

Frequently asked questions

Why does AUTO_RESUME sometimes fail even when enabled?

AUTO_RESUME requires the connecting role to have USAGE privilege on the warehouse. Without USAGE, the warehouse does not auto-start for that role — this is the most common reason AUTO_RESUME appears to not work.

Can I pre-start the Snowflake warehouse before a dbt Cloud job runs?

Yes — use a dbt on-run-start hook that executes ALTER WAREHOUSE <name> RESUME IF SUSPENDED, which starts the warehouse before the first model runs.

Other resource errors