The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has introduced new requirements for cryptocurrency mining operations within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region, mandating that these facilities register with state authorities and provide annual updates on vital operational details.

Under the newly adopted rule, facilities involved in virtual currency mining—defined as those using electronic systems to process virtual currency transactions on a distributed ledger and consuming more than 75MW of power with at least 10 percent interruptible load—must disclose their location, ownership structure, energy consumption, and business model on an annual basis.

Under the new rules, crypto mining facilities must register with PUCT by February 2025. If they fail to comply, they face fines of up to $25,000 daily.

PUCT’s decision to implement the new rule results from the increasing energy demand of cryptocurrency mining facilities on the Texan grid.

“To ensure the ERCOT grid is reliable and meets the electricity needs of all Texans, the PUCT and ERCOT need to know the location and power needs of virtual currency miners,” said PUCT chairman Thomas Gleeson.

The Texas grid has been placed under significant pressure from the growth of facilities designed as large flexible load (LFL) customers.

The growth of LFLs risks unpredictable fluctuations when they rapidly shift their energy use, throttling power consumption up or down.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated that by the end of 2025, ERCOT will have approved operations of 9,500MW of LFL demand capacity, which would be 73 percent more than is currently approved.

If projections are correct, LFL consumers would represent 10 percent of overall consumption, which could have significant implications on the grid.