The U.S. Energy Information Administration's efforts to require cryptocurrency miners to report on their electricity use have been suspended by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, following a complaint by Texas crypto miners alleging that EIA exceeded its regulatory authority in requiring the report.
Earlier this year, EIA announced a new, mandatory survey of crypto miners. The Form EIA-862 report would cover topics like the nature and scale of equipment installed, electricity consumption, and sources of power. EIA developed the survey and announced it as a new requirement, after requesting and receiving approval from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for an "emergency data collection request". Emergency requests generally skip procedural steps including publication of a 60-day notice in the Federal Register and public comment.
But a trade group and a crypto miner sued to block EIA from implementing the EIA-862 survey requirement. They argued that EIA and OMB committed procedural violations in approving the survey, including that EIA failed to establish a bona fide emergency, and that OMB authorized the emergency data collection for 189 days (longer than the 180-day maximum under the Paperwork Reduction Act).
On February 23, a judge from the federal District Court issued a 14-day temporary restraining order enjoining EIA from implementing the survey requirement, based on a finding that the plaintiffs were "likely to succeed on the merits". The order scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for February 27.
Regardless of the outcome of the judicial challenge to EIA's Form EIA-862 survey requirement, policymakers will likely continue to be interested in understanding energy consumption requirements for blockchain, crypto, hyper-scaling facilities, and even other data center activities.
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