Under high temperatures in the US, the power grid issued a red alert, and Bitcoin mining became the scapegoat?

Author: Power of Hash

At the end of June 2026, a "heat dome" pushed PJM, the largest power grid in the U.S., into a corner.

On July 1, this grid, serving 67 million people, hit its second-highest electricity load ever at 161,910 MW.

The next day, operating reserve capacity plunged from 10,996 MW to 5,091 MW, a dangerously thin buffer.

Thus, on June 30, Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed two emergency orders, effective at 11:59 PM that night.

The first order allowed designated units to temporarily exceed environmental emission caps to maximize power generation.

The second order was a last-resort measure, allowing the grid to mandate that large users over 50 MW (such as data centers and Bitcoin mines) disconnect from the grid within 15 minutes and use their own backup generators.

On July 2, wholesale electricity prices surged above $2,000/MWh, and the Western Hub day-ahead settlement price hit $1,222.75/MWh, nearly three times the comparable peak from the same period last year.

From July 1 to July 3, PJM issued consecutive heat alerts and maximum generation warnings, requiring power plants to delay maintenance and run all units at full capacity.

Inside a mine within PJM's coverage area, rows of ASIC miners were being powered down in an orderly fashion.

You might think miners are losing money staring at black screens? In fact, they may be earning higher profits than mining.

I. Paid to Shut Down

In reality, within the grid system, large Bitcoin miners are never just "big power consumers." They are actually running a "betting" business.

The grid has a "demand response" mechanism.

Simply put, the grid signs agreements with large customers: under normal conditions, it supplies low-cost electricity, but when extreme weather threatens grid collapse, customers must shut down on command. In return, they receive generous compensation.

PJM's ELRP (Emergency Load Response Program) and CP (Capacity Performance) programs are typical examples of such mechanisms.

Mining firms like Bitfarms and Mawson have sites in PJM that participate in local demand response programs.

Furthermore, in Texas's ERCOT grid, top miner Riot Platforms has successfully proven this business model.

In Q1 2026, they received a total of $21.0M in power curtailment credits, up 171% year-over-year.

Of that $21.0M, $13.5M came from direct load reduction, and $7.5M from demand response participation.

CFO Jason Chung stated in the earnings call that these credits reduced net power costs to $0.03/kWh, bringing direct mining costs down to $44,629 per Bitcoin, a 26% drop from the previous quarter.

After all, when electricity prices spike, rather than running machines at a loss to mine coins, it's better to shut down and "sell" the electricity back to the grid to earn the spread.

Essentially, they turn idle computing power into an "insurance product" for the grid.

II. The Real Power Guzzler Is AI

Miners have found a profitable path in shutting down, but zooming out reveals that Bitcoin mines are only a small supporting player in this electricity battle.

The real reason the Energy Department issued two emergency orders is mainly AI data centers.

PJM's capacity auction prices surged more than 10 times, from $28.92/MW-day for the 2024/25 period to $329.17/MW-day for 2026/27, hitting the price cap.

Why such a frenzy?

PJM itself forecasts that regional electricity demand will surge by 32 GW by 2030, with 30 GW coming from data centers.

Northern Virginia, the world's largest data center cluster, has seen electricity demand overwhelm utility Dominion Energy.

In February 2026, PJM warned of a potential 60 GW supply gap over the next decade.

Electricity has become a resource fought over by AI data centers. Supply falls short of demand, so prices naturally rise.

In contrast, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that Bitcoin mining accounts for only 0.6%–2.3% of total U.S. annual electricity consumption.

What is really stressing the grid is the exponentially surging demand for AI computing power.

III. If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them: The Ultimate Transformation of Mining Giants

The weather bureau predicts continued extreme heat risk in the PJM region through mid-July.

While investors are still fixated on wholesale electricity prices and miner production cut announcements, the real top-tier players have already begun switching tracks.

Since AI is the biggest "power guzzler" and the biggest payer in the future, mining companies holding power capacity and site infrastructure naturally know where to go.

Again, take Riot Platforms as an example. In Q1 2026, they completed an identity shift from a pure Bitcoin miner to a "large-scale data center operator."

AMD expanded its contract at Riot's Rockdale facility from 25 MW to 50 MW in Q1.

For these top players, traditional Bitcoin mining is becoming a cash-flow-generating base business.

The new story for future valuation is to lease their readily available power capacity and sites to high-performance AI computing, which is desperate for energy.

Heat alerts are still sounding, and meters are still spinning.

In this life-or-death race for energy, capital will always find the most profitable niche earlier than ordinary people.