three cents per kWh. nice.
Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
11–20 of 278 posts
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#12Those bargain rates are possible largely because the Basin’s five dams generate around six times what the region can use locally. Much of the surplus is exported, at premium prices, to outside buyers such as Puget Sound Energy, and those outside sales subsidize local rates. But if the utilities are selling more of their power to local Bitcoin miners, they’re exporting less power at those premium prices, which makes i…
Solution 2: don't subsidize prices. Problem solved.
Prices aren't being outright subsidized. The other states who don't have the foresight of creating enough power for their own citizens have to pay premium prices to the states that properly planned infrastructure. The situation is being taken advantage of by miners who can exploit low rates that couldn't realistically be planned for when power production infrastructure was being created.
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#13Those bargain rates are possible largely because the Basin’s five dams generate around six times what the region can use locally. Much of the surplus is exported, at premium prices, to outside buyers such as Puget Sound Energy, and those outside sales subsidize local rates. But if the utilities are selling more of their power to local Bitcoin miners, they’re exporting less power at those premium prices, which makes i…
I was just wondering about this - are the miners being charged taxes on the revenues generated?
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#14Subsidising energy prices for local consumers based on export revenues is widely practiced but is bad policy. The utilities should charge market rates for consumption and cut local rate-payers a cheque annually using a scheme that encourages energy saving practices.
It's not necessarily bad policy it's just policy. The local residents are also the ones that generally live with the consequences and externalities of the local power generation industry.
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#15Subsidising energy prices for local consumers based on export revenues is widely practiced but is bad policy. The utilities should charge market rates for consumption and cut local rate-payers a cheque annually using a scheme that encourages energy saving practices.
It's not necessarily bad policy it's just policy. The local residents are also the ones that generally live with the consequences and externalities of the local power generation industry.
They should get a check independent of consumption to pay for those externalities.
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#16Those bargain rates are possible largely because the Basin’s five dams generate around six times what the region can use locally. Much of the surplus is exported, at premium prices, to outside buyers such as Puget Sound Energy, and those outside sales subsidize local rates. But if the utilities are selling more of their power to local Bitcoin miners, they’re exporting less power at those premium prices, which makes i…
Why is the solution to everything "pass a law"? there is an ocean of possible solutions to this problem yet people somehow always jump to "pass more laws" before other options are considered. I find that rather weird.
These are public utilities, so changing their rate structures so significantly could well require legal changes. And if the solution is outside the utility, then it definitely requires legal changes, as then we're in to the realm of business regulation, and American business regulation is generally of the style of "everything is allowed except for these specifically forbidden things that have proven to be bad".
Of course, if you'd like to propose some less intrusive solution I'm sure both we and the people of Central Washington would be all ears.
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#17Those bargain rates are possible largely because the Basin’s five dams generate around six times what the region can use locally. Much of the surplus is exported, at premium prices, to outside buyers such as Puget Sound Energy, and those outside sales subsidize local rates. But if the utilities are selling more of their power to local Bitcoin miners, they’re exporting less power at those premium prices, which makes i…
Why is the solution to everything "pass a law"? there is an ocean of possible solutions to this problem yet people somehow always jump to "pass more laws" before other options are considered. I find that rather weird.
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Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#18Subsidising energy prices for local consumers based on export revenues is widely practiced but is bad policy. The utilities should charge market rates for consumption and cut local rate-payers a cheque annually using a scheme that encourages energy saving practices.
It's not necessarily bad policy it's just policy. The local residents are also the ones that generally live with the consequences and externalities of the local power generation industry.
Low-cosumption residents are then forced to live with the externalities of the generation infrastructure as well as the externalities of the behaviour induced by the electricity subsidy while benefiting the least from the subsidy - it seems like a pretty bad policy.
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#19> But backers insist that a local mining sector, if allowed to grow, will attract other ancillary services, such as software development, and ultimately provide the Basin with some of the tech-fueled prosperity that Seattle has enjoyed.
Wow. Any municipality who falls for this crock of shit would be crazy.
Re: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ stress power grids in Central Washington
#20Easy...increase rates and set off profits directly against municipal levies.
That way the average person on the street doesn't lose, yet the miners are encouraged to get lost.