"The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will begin to more closely track electricity consumption by cryptocurrency mining companies operating in the United States, the agency said on Wednesday.

The EIA said it plans to launch a survey next week of select bitcoin miners, which will be required to respond with their energy use details, as part of an emergency data collection request authorized by the Office of Management and Budget on Jan. 26.

Miners of the digital coins have come under scrutiny in recent years for their electricity-sapping operations, and for the impact their activity has on power grids and carbon emissions.

The EIA's survey will focus on how power demand for cryptocurrency mining is changing, as well as identifying parts of the country where mining growth is concentrated and the electricity sources used for the operations."

Laila Kearney reports for Reuters January 31, 2024. [2]