Texas governor turns to Bitcoin miners to bolster the power grid and his re-election

[dalton99a]

https://financialpost.com/fp-finance/cryptocurrency/texas-governor-abbott-turns-to-bitcoin-miners-to-bolster-the-grid-and-his-re-election

Texas governor turns to Bitcoin miners to bolster the power grid and his re-election
Greg Abbott is embracing an industry that sees itself as a libertarian form of finance free from meddling by banks and governments
Michael Smith
Feb 02, 2022

Last fall, Texas Governor Greg Abbott gathered dozens of cryptocurrency deal makers in Austin where they discussed an idea that, on its face, seemed almost upside down: Electricity-hungry Bitcoin miners could shore up the state’s power grid, a top priority after a deep freeze last winter triggered blackouts that left hundreds dead.

The industry’s advocates have been making that pitch to the governor for years. The idea is that the miners’ computer arrays would demand so much electricity that someone would come along to build more power plants, something Texas badly needs. If the grid starts to go wobbly, as it did when winter storm Uri froze up power plants in February 2021, miners could quickly shut down to conserve energy for homes and businesses. At least two Bitcoin miners have already volunteered to do just that.

There’s no guarantee anyone will build more generation or switch off just because they’re asked. There’s even a chance the idea could backfire and put more strain on the grid overall. But at last October’s meeting at the governor’s mansion, Abbott made it clear that he was going to count on the miners’ assistance when the electricity grid faced colder months ahead. Help me get through the winter, the governor said, according to four people who attended the meeting.

Getting through the winter may be key to Abbott’s political fortunes as he stands for re-election. He faces two main opponents in a March 1 Republican primary and a tougher fight in November against Democrat Beto O’Rourke. The grid is one of the governor’s few weak flanks: The most recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, from October, showed that 60 per cent of Texans disapprove of how state leaders have handled the reliability of the grid.