Mississippi to shield bitcoin miners from higher electricity tariffs

The Mississippi Senate passed a bill protecting cryptocurrency miners from discrimination. The measure is under consideration by the House of Representatives.

The Digital Asset Mining Protection Act was authored by Senator Josh Harkins. The bill would legalise mining in the state both commercially and domestically.

The measure prohibits utilities from imposing “discriminatory tariffs” on electricity for participants in the blockchain industry.

Miners should not be subjected to noise standards above the generally accepted levels. The same applies to other environmental standards.

The Digital Asset Mining Protection Act provides for the creation of the Mississippi Council on Digital Asset Mining, consisting of 13 members. Its membership will include representatives from government, conservation groups and the public.

By the end of 2023, the body must study and assess:

• the state’s active mining industry, its impact on employment and the economy;
• the potential for cryptocurrency mining to fund upgrades to the energy infrastructure;
• the industry’s capacity to increase the share of environmentally friendly energy sources, to redevelop abandoned oil and gas wells, to capture methane from landfills, and to implement other environmental projects.

Mississippi ranks among US regions with relatively low electricity prices, according to Hashrate Index. Accessible tariffs have traditionally been among the advantages for miners in choosing a site for their operations.

In 2021 the United States topped the share of Bitcoin hashrate at 37.8%. However, according to the largest mining pool, Foundry USA, its members did not have facilities in the state.

In November 2022, the state of New York imposed a moratorium on expanding cryptocurrency mining using hydrocarbon energy sources.