Intense heatwave and increased demand for electricity have created a problem for the electric grid in texas. It has called up the unlikeliest of heroes- the bitcoin mining community, who believes they can help fix the faulty electric grid.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, better known as ERCOT, is an organisation which helps manage the Texan grid, which is separate from the national grid. ERCOT has stated that bitcoin miners consume vast amounts of electricity for almost ten hours, putting pressure on the electric grid. Repeated blackouts feel regular for the Texans, who believe it will only increase in the coming months. ERCOT has requested Texans to ease up on their electricity usage during the record-breaking energy surge. However, they have also stated that collective actions of the residents may stabilise the energy usage.
Bitcoin mining requires a massive relay of computers and cooling systems that consume a tremendous amount of electricity. While it may not seem like a problem, during peak hours, huge electricity demand puts stress on the grid. Bitcoin miners say they have come up with a solution. They believe that if they power down the time when the demand surges, it may stabilise the grid. Even Republican senator Ted Cruz endorses this practice.
ERCOT has also announced that they will pay the miners who power down during those periods. ERCOT forecasts that the demand for crypto mining may grow as much as 27 gigawatts in the coming four years. They also believe that it is a win-win situation as they are getting paid to power down and also contributing to easing the power load on the grid.
One of the biggest Texan crypto miners, Riot Blockchain, believes ERCOT announcements can be very profitable for them. They generate bitcoin when the power is available at a cheaper rate and receive the benefit by powering down when electricity demand surges. By doing this, they were able to pay 100 per cent of the electricity bill through the incentives they received. As a result, they made even more profit even while mining less.
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