The
Electricity
Reliability
Council
of
Texas
(ERCOT)
is
considering
integrating
Bitcoin
miners
as
Controllable
Load
Resources
(CLRs)
to
enhance
grid
stability.
During
a
Texas
Senate
Business
&
Commerce
Committee
hearing,
ERCOT
CEO
Pablo
Vegas
emphasized
that
classifying
more
Bitcoin
miners
as
CLRs
would
improve
the
reliability
of
the
state’s
power
grid.
A
CLR
is
a
major
power
consumer
that
can
lower
energy
costs
by
avoiding
high-price
periods
while
providing
essential
grid
stability
services.
Vegas
disclosed
that
crypto
operations
in
Texas
consume
around
2,600
megawatts
of
energy,
but
only
500
megawatts
are
registered
as
CLRs,
with
just
130
megawatts
actively
participating.
He
stated:
“I
would
like
to
see
all
crypto
become
Controllable
Load
Resources
(CLRs);
that
would
be,
from
a
liabiity
standpoint,
truly
advantageous.”
The
crypto
community
has
responded
positively
to
the
news,
with
Brian
Morgenstern,
Public
Policy
Head
at
Riot
Platforms,
calling
it
the
most
significant
aspect
of
the
hearing.
Bitcoin
mining
enthusiast
Jacobo
Pascual
added:
“As
grid
reliability
degrades
with
the
addition
of
intermittent
renewable
capacity,
the
value
of
bitcoin
mining
as
a
balancing
tool
increases
(add
electricity
demand
when
renewable
capacity
is
plentiful,
cut
immediately
when
generation
is
insufficient).”
Texas
energy
needs
Meanwhile,
Lt.
Gov.
Dan
Patrick
has
expressed
strong
concerns
over
the
projected
increase
in
the
Texas
power
grid’s
capacity,
driven
by
Bitcoin
miners
and
artificial
intelligence
data
centers.
The
grid
is
expected
to
expand
from
85,000
to
150,000
megawatts
within
the
next
decade,
far
exceeding
the
previously
projected
110,000
megawatts.
Patrick
commented:
“Crypto
miners
and
data
centers
will
be
responsible
for
over
50%
of
the
added
growth.
We
need
to
take
a
close
look
at
those
two
industries.
They
produce
very
few
jobs
compared
to
the
incredible
demands
they
place
on
our
grid.”
He
further
noted
that
miners
might
profit
more
from
selling
electricity
back
to
the
grid
than
from
their
mining
operations.
Patrick
prioritized
supporting
retail
users
and
traditional
businesses
over
niche
industries
that
heavily
burden
the
grid.
He
stated:
“I’m
more
interested
in
building
the
grid
to
service
customers
in
their
homes,
apartments,
and
normal
businesses
and
keeping
costs
as
low
as
possible
for
them
instead
of
for
very
niche
industries
that
have
massive
power
demands
and
produce
few
jobs.
We
want
data
centers,
but
it
can’t
be
the
Wild
Wild
West
of
data
centers
and
crypto
miners
crashing
our
grid
and
turning
the
lights
off.”
Mentioned
in
this
article
In:
US,
Mining
Go to Source
Author: Oluwapelumi Adejumo
