US EIA Starts Requiring Energy Consumption Data From Cryptocurrency Miners

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistics agency of the U.S. Energy Department, has sent letters to cryptocurrency miners requiring data related to energy consumption and configuration of their mining sites. According to one of the letters posted on social media, miners have until February 23 to report the info regarding the activities carried on in January.

U.S. EIA Starts Collecting Data From Cryptocurrency Miners

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has started strengthening the oversight of the activities of cryptocurrency miners. According to reports from Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, cryptocurrency miners have been receiving EIA letters compelling them to deliver data regarding the energy consumption of their activities in January.

More specifically, the EIA requires miners to fill out the EIA-862 Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities Report, which includes questions regarding the identification of the cryptocurrency mining company, the electricity consumption of each one of the mining facilities, and the energy providers that supplied this energy consumed during the referred period.

In addition, the form also includes questions about the characteristics of the mining equipment used, its age, its electric load, and the hash rate produced by these machines.

The letters also impose an ultimatum on the data delivery, which has to be sent to the EIA before February 23. Answering these questions is mandatory, and EIA-862 specifies that “failure to comply may result in criminal fines, civil penalties, and other sanctions as provided by law.”

Porter, who is also leading a movement to regulate Bitcoin at a state level in the U.S., stated he strongly disagreed with the actions of the EIA on the subject due to the relevance of the cryptocurrency mining industry. He declared:

This is NOT how the Federal Government should be interacting with a new and growing industry that has so much potential.

The institution received clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to carry out these surveys in January, stating that cryptocurrency operations might result in public harm. Nonetheless, the measure has been criticized by several pro-cryptocurrency mining groups, which believe the decision constitutes an overreach of authority.