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EIA to seek public comment on proposed survey of cryptocurrency miners' energy use
Summary
The Energy Information Administration said it will pursue the OMB/Federal Register process this quarter to propose a 60-day notice for a survey of proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining energy use and solicited stakeholder input on survey design, data needs and alternatives.
Stephen Harvey, a host from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, opened the agency’s webinar by saying EIA plans to move toward a formal Office of Management and Budget process and a Federal Register notice to gather public comment on a proposed survey of proof-of-work cryptocurrency miners’ energy use. Harvey said the agency is targeting a 60-day Federal Register notice this quarter followed by a possible 30-day notice after revisions and encouraged written comments via the published notice or the email address the agency is providing.
Harvey framed the agency’s role as producing information to inform policy debates rather than making policy, and described two methodological approaches EIA used in preliminary work: a top‑down and a bottom‑up estimate of electricity used by cryptocurrency mining. He said those preliminary estimates suggested mining represented a measurable share of U.S. electricity consumption and described key data challenges, including the difficulty of identifying miners among millions of electricity customers and miners’ geographical mobility in response to electricity prices.
EIA asked commenters three focused questions: what factors are most important to understand mining energy use; what data a survey could collect to inform effects on U.S. energy systems (including benefits and costs); and whether existing public data could substitute for a survey. Harvey reiterated the agency will consider all suggestions and said EIA has no fixed preference for survey scope at this stage.
On process and timeline, Harvey outlined the Paperwork Reduction Act/OMB steps: an initial 60-day Federal Register comment period on a proposed information collection, followed by a 30-day posting after revisions and OMB review. He said the agency intends to make the notice easy to respond to (email and web submissions are acceptable) and will publish contact information and a listserve for updates.
The webinar closed with EIA stating it will consider stakeholder suggestions — including whether to broaden a survey to include other kinds of data centers — and with instructions for joining the listserve and submitting comments.
The next procedural step EIA described is posting a Federal Register 60-day notice; stakeholders on the webinar were asked to use that formal comment channel and the agency email to submit detailed input.
