Plattsburgh has a problem....and when you are a state entity (hammer), everything looks like a target for regulation (nail.)
At first, I wanted to dismiss this story as a case of "the government doesn't know what it's talking about, and it's going to barge in and screw things up." I have a pretty good idea of the RoI on Bitcoin mining at various power price-points. I found it difficult to believe Plattsburgh had enough serious mining operations to produce any appreciable drain on public utilities.
In short, you can't be making that much money doing it in New York state, a top 3 most expensive state to live in the USA. Your competitors are mining from Iceland with free refrigeration and China with subsidized power, along with those who have an entirely free outlet due to work or utilities included in rent.
However, as Jelf Goldbloom once made a career out of saying, "Life finds a way."
As it happens, there is actually a (mathematically and economically challenged, but substantial) cryptocurrency mining presence within the city. City officials say they know of at least 2 confirmed mining farms responsible for using as much as 11.2 megawatts of power, which is approximately 10% of the city's power capacity and more than sizable vendor Georgia Pacific.
This is a problem, because the city is partially subsidized with cheap hydropower from the St. Lawrence river, and this allotment is being eaten up by the increased usage from Bitcoin mining. The difference in subsidized and unsubsidized rates is huge - under 5 cents per megawatt-hour vs 37 cents. The result is a larger increase in net power rates for the city from such uses than would immediately be apparent.
As noted above in the (somewhat inaccurate) profitability calculator, any attempts to mine at 37 cents per megawatt hour are ludicrous. So, these operations are subsisting entirely by poaching the subsidized power allocated to the city.
Given the situation, (socialization of cost with privatization of gains) I don't see any problem with attempts to curb or regulate this behavior. Failing to do so spoils the power subsidy the city has either earned or lucked into. Perhaps an option to feed cryptocurrency forms unsubsidized power-rates after they have used up an allotment typical of a standard household or business would be a fair middle ground.
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Sources: Google, Cryptocompare, BLS.gov, Water Town Daily Times, Zero Hedge
Copyright: Cryptocompare, BLS.gov, DevRant.com