Author: HashPower Heart
By the end of June 2026, a "heat dome" pushed PJM, the largest grid in the United States, to the brink.
On July 1, the grid serving 67 million people set a record for the second-highest electricity load at 161,910 MW.
The next day, reserve capacity plummeted from 10,996 MW to 5,091 MW, leaving a dangerously thin buffer.
On June 30, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed two emergency orders, effective at 11:59 p.m. that night.
The first order allows designated units to temporarily exceed environmental emission limits to generate power at full capacity.
The first order is a last-resort measure allowing the grid to require large users of over 50 megawatts—such as data centers and Bitcoin mining facilities—to disconnect from the grid and switch to their own backup generators within 15 minutes.
On July 2, wholesale electricity prices surged above $2,000/MWh, with the Western Hub day-ahead settlement price reaching $1,222.75/MWh—nearly triple the comparable peak from the same period last year.
From July 1 to July 3, PJM issued continuous heat warnings and maximum generation alerts, requesting power plants to postpone maintenance and operate all units at full capacity.
In a mine facility covered by PJM, rows of ASIC miners are being systematically powered down.
You think miners are losing money staring at a black screen? The truth is the opposite—they may be earning higher profits than from mining itself.
One: Get paid when you shut down
In fact, in the power grid system, large Bitcoin miners have never been merely "heavy electricity consumers"—they are actually engaged in a form of speculative betting.
The power grid has a "demand response" mechanism.
In simple terms, the power grid signs agreements with large customers: normally, you receive low-cost electricity, but during extreme weather when the grid is at risk of collapse, you must follow instructions and shut down your operations. In return, you’ll receive a substantial compensation.
PJM's ELRP (Emergency Load Response) and CP (Capacity Performance) programs are typical examples of such mechanisms.
Bitfarms, Mawson, and other mining companies participate in local demand response programs at their PJM sites.
And in neighboring Texas, the leading mining company Riot Platforms has already made this business model work on the ERCOT grid.
In Q1 2026, they received a total of $21.0M in power reduction credits, a 171% year-over-year increase.
Of this $21.0M, $13.5M came from direct electricity usage reductions, and $7.5M came from demand response participation.
CFO Jason Chung said on the earnings call that these credit arrangements have reduced the net electricity cost to $0.03/kWh, bringing the direct mining cost down to $44,629 per bitcoin, a 26% decrease from the previous quarter.
After all, when electricity prices surge, it’s better to shut down your mining rig and sell the electricity back to the grid for a profit than to keep running it at a loss.
Essentially, it turns idle computing power into an “insurance product” for the power grid.
II. The real power hog is actually AI
Miners have found a way to profit during shutdowns, but if you take a step back, you’ll see that Bitcoin mining farms are only minor players in this battle for electricity.
What primarily prompted the Department of Energy to issue two consecutive emergency orders was AI data centers.
PJM's capacity auction prices surged more than tenfold from $28.92/MW-day in the 2024/25 period to $329.17/MW-day in the 2026/27 period, reaching the price cap.
Why is it rising so sharply?
PJM predicts that regional electricity demand will surge by 32 GW by 2030, with 30 GW coming from data centers.
Northern Virginia, home to the world's largest concentration of data centers, has overwhelmed the utility company Dominion Energy with its electricity demand.
In February 2026, PJM warned of a potential 60 GW power supply gap over the next decade.
Electricity has become a highly contested resource for AI data centers, with demand outstripping supply, naturally driving prices up.
In comparison, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that Bitcoin mining accounts for only 0.6% to 2.3% of total annual electricity consumption in the United States.
What is truly straining the power grid is the exponentially surging demand for AI computing power.
Three: If you can't beat them, join them—the ultimate transformation of mining giants
The meteorological bureau predicts a continued risk of extreme heat in the PJM region in mid-July.
While investors are still closely watching wholesale electricity prices and mining company production cut announcements, the true top players have already switched tracks.
Since AI is the biggest "electricity guzzler" and will also be the largest payer in the future, mining companies that control electricity quotas and physical infrastructure naturally know which direction to take.
Taking Riot Platforms as an example, they completed a transformation in Q1 2026, shifting from a pure Bitcoin mining company to a "large-scale data center operator."
AMD expanded its contract at the Riot Rockdale facility from 25 MW to 50 MW in Q1.
For these major players, traditional Bitcoin mining is becoming a foundational business that generates cash flow.
The new story for future valuation lies in leveraging existing power quotas and facilities to host high-performance AI computing that urgently needs energy.
The heat alert is still sounding, and the electricity meter is still spinning.
In this life-or-death race for energy, capital always finds the most profitable opportunity before ordinary people can.