Texas Governor Pleads With Crypto Miners to Switch Off Mining
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas reportedly pleaded with miners in October 2021 to stop down operations during the United States winter. This is probably an attempt to avoid another catastrophic outage like the one that killed hundreds of people in Texas in February 2021 when the power infrastructure buckled under the strain of intense demand.
If these enterprises notice that the grid is failing, they must shut down. According to Bloomberg, two corporations have stated that if the grid is put under too much stress, they will shut down.
According to the Texas Blockchain Council, the state is home to seven significant crypto mining companies and more than 20 smaller ones. Despite the cryptocurrency boom, there has been no commitment to developing new power plants.
Governor Abbott welcomed the miners believing that the increased demand would prompt power firms to build more facilities. Stakeholders in the crypto business were essential in changing Abbott's mind. Lee Bratcher, head of the Texas Blockchain Council, has met Abbot multiple times to discuss Bitcoin's good impact on the grid. Bratcher sees an opportunity in other countries' restrictions, such as Kazakhstan and China.
Unfortunately, Abbot and the industry are confronting a problem. It's possible that power companies would refuse to build more facilities in response to his demands. The icy storm left many Texans cold last year, there hasn't been much progress in the deteriorating infrastructure.
Energy expert says a thoughtful approach is required
According to Abbott, all damaged equipment has been properly repaired. Last June, Abbott stated that Texas was open to cryptocurrency. To entice mining activity, the state has adopted permissive regulations for digital assets, as well as a deregulated grid.
It seems strange that Bitcoin miners can choose whether to turn off their computers or not without being compelled by law. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas estimated that quintupling of mining energy consumption appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
Doug Lewin, an energy consultant said: “There has to be a really thoughtful approach to bringing gigawatts worth of bitcoin onto the system. We’ve got to make sure that if we’re getting close to scarcity, people are not mining bitcoins anymore.”
Abbot is up for re-election this year against heavy competition. On March 1, 2022, he will face someone from his own party, and in November, he will face Democrat Beto O' Rourke. The grid infrastructure left in the wake of last year's storm will be a weapon in his opponents' arsenal.