Miners in Texas are disconnected from the network due to high temperatures and increased electricity consumption

10.06.2022
The heat wave in Texas over the past seven days has led to a significant increase in electricity consumption in the early days of the summer, which has put a lot of strain on Texas power systems. Extreme temperatures have had an impact on mining organizations in the state of Texas.

On Monday, electricity consumption reached its maximum value of 72,386 MW, which was a record high for the first summer month. However, the next day the record surpassed itself and reached 72,785 MW, according to the Texas Energy Security Council (ERCOT). The last record mark for the entire period was 70257 MW and was recorded on 23.06. 2021.

The arrival of cryptocurrency miners in Texas has contributed to raising questions about the potential impact on the power grid.

On Thursday, ERCOT said the following: ERCOT expects that generation will be sufficient to meet the level of expected demand.

Most cryptocurrency miners in Texas have agreed with ERCOT that they will be disconnected from the grid during times of peak electricity demand. According to supporters, such maneuvering can be a plus for the grid.

Bitdeer said that despite uncharacteristic record high temperatures this week, the firm will respond adequately to increased consumption. The organization imposes restrictions on electricity during periods of maximum consumption and peak prices for it. The firm responds appropriately to notices from its retail electricity supplier, ERCOT merchants and energy system consultants.

A Bitdeer spokesperson made a statement that they reduced the number of transactions on June 7 late in the evening and plan to continue to do so in the future, while also monitoring network usage, temperature rise. He also added that they turn off the power by automatically triggering programs at the moment when electricity costs reach specific price levels.

Argo miner previously reported this week that they mined a quarter less cryptocurrency in May due to various factors. One of them was a period of power outage due to heat.

Argo CEO Peter Wall said in a video posted on Tuesday: “It most likely cost about five bitcoins due to the heat. We voluntarily reduced the power several times. The cost of electricity has increased, we returned this capacity to the grid several times.”

Riot recently revealed that it will similarly shut down operations this week due to hot weather.

Riot Chief Financial Officer Chad Harris said in a video message: “Over the next seven days, 100 degrees are forecast for five days. Electricity will be cut off during this period as well. Unused power can be used directly on the grid to support a few or 300,000 buildings in and around our community. We know about everything, we are checking the settings.” The company recently posted a video.

Harris spoke at the Whinestone facility, which is expected to have a total capacity of 750 MW when completed.

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