In order to assist the state deal with a surge in energy consumption, “almost a thousand megawatts of Bitcoin mining load” was shut down.
Over 1,000 megawatts of electricity designated for Bitcoin mining is being diverted to retail and commercial consumption in preparation for a heatwave in Texas.
Bloomberg reports that large-scale Bitcoin mining companies have shut down in preparation for a heat wave in Central Texas. As the temperature increases, the demand for air-conditioning often drives up the price of energy and may place a significant strain on the state’s electrical network.
Lee Bratcher president of the Texas Blockchain Association, told Bloomberg that “over a thousand megawatts of Bitcoin mining load” were being shut off to comply with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) request to preserve energy for the system.
Bratcher said that the load represented almost all industrial-scale Bitcoin mining in Texas, and he projected that the move would enable “over 1 percent of the overall grid capacity” to be diverted for retail and commercial usage.
Sunday, ERCOT issued a plea for Texans and big electric users to reduce their energy consumption between 19:00 and 01:00 UTC on Monday. It was predicted that overall electricity consumption will exceed 79,000 megawatts, surpassing the previous high set last Friday of 78,206 megawatts. Austin’s temperature had hit 107 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of writing.
Following China’s 2021 ban on cryptocurrency mining, the United States became the foremost mining centre in the world. Large mining businesses are increasingly attracted to the state of Texas because of its cheap energy costs and favourable regulatory attitude towards crypto. In November of 2017, Argo Blockchain announced intentions to invest up to $2 billion in the building of a Texan mining plant.
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