Large-scale crypto miners in Nebraska may be held accountable for their impact on the state’s energy infrastructure, if a bill related to crypto mining is signed by the governor. The Legislature Bill 526 (LB526), which comprehensively passed the Nebraska State Assembly with a 49-0 vote, is now at the Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen’s desk waiting for approval. If the bill is signed into law, it could be enacted on October 1, and crypto miners who use more than 1 megawatt of electricity will be required to bear the cost.
The bill gives authority to the public power supplier to impose requirements on any cryptocurrency mining operations for the cost of infrastructure upgrades needed for operations. It could be in “direct payment or a letter of credit,” or “imposing terms and conditions.” However, before imposing a requirement, the “public power supplier shall conduct a load study to determine the costs, impacts, and infrastructure upgrades necessitated by the cryptocurrency mining operation.”
Every person intending to start a crypto mining operation is required to report such intent to the public power supplier. The public power supplier, in turn, is obligated to inform the public about the number of crypto operations functioning under its jurisdiction, along with their energy usage.
The bill introduced by the State Sen. Mike Jacobson (R-Neb) in January seeks to capture commercial mining operations with its threshold of 1 megawatt, while excluding hobbyists and other smaller miners.
Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) is a major mining company that may be affected if the bill is enacted. “In April, our production saw a 15% month-over-month decrease in blocks won, as global hashrate had its second largest monthly gain on record and mining difficulty grew 8% from March,” said Fred Thiel, MARA’s chairman and CEO.
