According to Earthjustice, the government department wants to know whether supporting bitcoin mining businesses would raise power prices for people living in Kentucky.
According to Cointelegraph, the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) has apparently opened a formal inquiry into two proposed contracts that are anticipated to provide new bitcoin mining firms discounted power rates.
According to Cointelegraph, Earthjustice, an environmental legal organization, announced in a statement dated December 5, 2022, that the government agency intends to ascertain if supporting cryptocurrency mining activities would increase power bills for citizens of Kentucky. While the Bitki-KY has previously negotiated a $250,000 tax credit from the state of Kentucky following the passage of a Kentucky tax break measure for local cryptocurrency miners, it is thought that the deal intends to provide cheaper power prices to the Ebon Facility.
“I’m hoping the Commission will recognize these cryptocurrency mining businesses’ hollow claims that they would help local communities […] and examine contracts like these in the future with greater care. According to Thomas Cmar, senior attorney at Earthjustice, “Cryptocurrency mining is a largely unregulated and very energy-intensive enterprise that might cost regular Kentuckians big.”
The company asserted that because bitcoin mining operations are automated, it is uncommon for them to provide employment opportunities based on information provided by Cointelegraph. An advocacy group’s executive director Lane Boldman said that because “everyone else’s utility bills go up to meet the expenditures,” the burden of establishing new bitcoin mining operations “frequently rests on average folks.”
Additionally, Cointelegraph pointed out that Kentucky, which ranks second among all US states after New York, is said to provide 20% of the nation’s computer power related to proof-of-work mining activities. According to speculation, Earthjustice collaborated with the Kentucky Resources Council to submit comments on behalf of a coalition of environmental organizations located in Kentucky and asked the PSC to look into the issue.
