Bitcoin Miners Cut Production To Avoid Texas Peak Power Costs
Several Bitcoin mining firms reported lowered BTC production in June, mainly due to power curtailment in Texas.
Riot Platforms produced 450 Bitcoin (BTC) in the month, a 12% decline from May, when the firm mined 514 BTC, it stated in an announcement on Thursday.
Riot CEO Jason Les said the firm’s power strategy includes “economic curtailment” and voluntary participation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’s Four Coincident Peak (4CP) and other demand response programs.
It “significantly contributes to grid stability while enhancing Riot’s competitive positioning,” he added.
June marked the beginning of the ERCOT’s 4CP program, a tariff that captures demand charges in the market. It is designed to manage the periods of highest electricity demand during the months of June, July, August and September.
Large electricity consumers, such as Bitcoin miners, face transmission charges based on their usage during peak periods, so they can voluntarily curtail operations.
Riot also reported that it sold 397 BTC for $41.7 million and currently holds 19,273 Bitcoin.
Cipher production impacted
Cipher Mining reported this week that it had produced 160 BTC in June, sold 58 BTC, and holds 1,063 Bitcoin.
The company stated that its June production numbers were impacted by deliberate curtailment as part of their “proactive 4CP avoidance strategy.”
“This approach allowed the company to avoid costly 4CP penalties and maintain its position as having some of the lowest power costs in the industry,” it stated.
Related: Bitcoin production costs up 9% on higher hashrate, energy prices
Cipher’s Black Pearl facility in Texas started contributing to production at the end of June, but the overall monthly production was reduced due to the strategic curtailment.
MARA mining down 25%
MARA Holdings also reported a 25% reduction in production for June, with 211 Bitcoin mined compared to 282 the previous month. As of June 30, the company held a total of 49,940 BTC and did not sell any during the month.
MARA CEO Fred Thiel said, “Following a record-breaking May, production in June came in lower, with 211 blocks won for the month.”
He blamed the decline on “reduced uptime from weather-related curtailment” and the temporary deployment of older machines in its Garden City, Texas, facility while storm-related damage was being repaired.
“Natural variability in block luck — an expected dynamic when operating our own mining pool — also contributed,” he said.
CleanSpark bucks the trend
Meanwhile, CleanSpark increased its Bitcoin production by 6.7% in June, surpassing its mid-year hashrate target of 20 exahashes per second (EH/s).
The firm produced 445 Bitcoin and only sold 8, bringing its total holdings to 6,591 Bitcoin as of the end of the month.
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