Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Registration required. A person operating
a virtual currency mining facility receiving retail electric service in the
Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region at either transmission or
distribution voltage must, not later than one working day after the date the
facility begins receiving retail electric service, register the facility as a
large flexible load if the facility requires a total load of more than 75
megawatts (MW) and the facility's interruptible load equals 10 percent or more
of the actual or anticipated annual peak demand of the facility. A person
operating a virtual currency mining facility that is required to register as a
large flexible load under this section and began receiving retail electric
service prior to the effective date of this rule must register no later than
February 1, 2025.
(b) Definitions.
The following terms, when used in this section, have the following meanings.
(1) Virtual currency--has the meaning
assigned by Section 12.001, Business & Commerce Code.
(2) Virtual currency mining facility--a
facility that uses electronic equipment to add virtual currency transactions to
a distributed ledger.
(3)
Interruptible load--the portion of the facility's load that the facility
operator can choose to interrupt due to locational marginal prices, load zone
prices, response to the ERCOT coincident peak demand for the months of June,
July, August and September (4CP), or due to external grid conditions.
(c) A registrant must
provide the information listed in this subsection in a format established by
the commission.
(1) The registrant's legal
business name, the name of the registrant's corporate parent or parents, the
name of the registrant's principals, and all business names of the
registrant.
(2) A mailing address,
telephone number, and e-mail address of the principal place of business of the
registrant.
(3) The current name,
title, business mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address for the
registrant's regulatory contact person, and whether the regulatory contact is
an internal staff member of the registrant.
(4) The form of business being registered
(e.g., corporation, partnership, or sole proprietor).
(5) Applicable information on file with the
Texas Secretary of State, including, the registrant's endorsed certificate of
incorporation certified by the Texas Secretary of State, a copy of the
registrant's certificate of fact - status or other business registration on
file with the Texas Secretary of State.
(6) For each virtual currency mining facility
operated by the registrant:
(A) the name,
address, and county of operation of each facility;
(B) the identity of the property owner and
lessor or facility host;
(C) the
size of the facility in square feet and a description of the infrastructure,
including whether it is fixed or movable, open or enclosed;
(D) the names of the transmission and
distribution service providers serving the facility and the load zone the
facility is located in;
(E) the
Electric Service Identifier (ESIID) or equivalent unique premise identifier
assigned to the facility;
(F) the
anticipated peak load, in MWs, from the facility for each year of the five-year
period beginning on the date of the registration;
(G) the percentage of the site load that
meets the definition of interruptible load in subsection (b)(3) of this
section; and
(H) the actual peak
load in MWs and total power consumption in MWhs for the prior calendar year, if
the facility took retail electric service at any time during the prior calendar
year.
(7) An affidavit
signed by a representative, official, officer, or other authorized person with
binding authority over the registrant affirming that:
(A) the registrant is authorized to do
business in Texas under all applicable laws and is in good standing with the
Texas Secretary of State;
(B) that
all statements made in the registration submission are true, correct, and
complete;
(C) that any changes in
the information will be provided in a timely manner;
(D) that the registrant has provided notice
of its compliance with this rule to transmission distribution service providers
serving its registered facilities; and
(E) that the registrant understands and will
comply with all applicable law and rules.
(d) Update of registration. A registrant must
amend its registration with the commission within 30 days of a change to the
information required by subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Renewal of registration. A virtual
currency mining facility registration expires and must be renewed on or before
March 1 of every calendar year by either submitting the information required by
subsection (c) of this section or by submitting updated information required by
subsections (c)(6)(F) and (H) of this section and a statement that the rest of
the facility's registration information on file with the commission is current
and correct.
(1) By December 31 of each
calendar year, commission staff must identify each virtual currency mining
facility registration that has not been renewed.
(2) Commission staff will provide ERCOT a
list of each virtual currency mining facility that has been identified under
paragraph (1) of this subsection by January 31 each year.
(f) Administrative penalty. The commission
may impose an administrative penalty on a person for a violation of the Public
Utility Regulatory Act, commission rules, or rules adopted by an independent
organization, including failure to timely respond to commission or commission
staff inquiries. A violation of this section is a Class A violation under
§
25.8 of this title, relating to
Classification System for Violations of Statutes, Rules, and Orders Applicable
to Electric Service Providers.
