Large-scale Crypto Miners in Texas May Struggle With New Policies

Crypto miners in Texas are now facing a new challenge after the government is discussing the decision of requesting “approval to energize” studies from high-scale miners, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg shared the news on Twitter, with the caption, “Power-hungry crypto miners will face new hurdles in connecting to Texas electrical networks, thanks to new rules from the state’s grid operator.”

Power-hungry crypto miners will face new hurdles in connecting to Texas electrical networks, thanks to new rules from the state’s grid operator https://t.co/GA4E8Z78nO

— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) March 31, 2022

Meanwhile, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT) has started asking utilities to submit studies stating facts about the impact of miners and other large energy users. These studies will be a factor in determining whether they get the “approval to energize” or not.

As announced in a notice on March 25, ERCOT members will vote on Wednesday to reach an agreement and hash out details of a well-set plan to avoid being overwhelmed by the changes.

This came as a reaction to the high demand for electricity that comes from crypto miners. These measures are also a way to reform the previous policy ERCOT had used during the past period of time.

Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, commented regarding these changes.

We are entering into a dialogue with Ercot now to ensure that this does not cause any delays for the Bitcoin miners.

As a result of the new measures, large-scale miners will be affected as they are considered to be big energy consumers. Other big consumers such as factories and natural gas export terminals will also be affected, yet they are not the target here.