US power grid strain from winter storm Fern triggers widespread bitcoin mining curtailments

As winter storm Fern drives record electricity demand and grid stress across the United States, bitcoin mining operators are shutting down capacity to free up power for households and critical services.

Foundry USA hashrate plunges as miners power down

Winter storm Fern has forced Bitcoin mining operations across the US to rapidly curtail activity as frigid weather, ice, and snow hammer large swaths of the country. Moreover, the extreme conditions are testing the resilience of aging power infrastructure.

Foundry USA, one of the world’s largest mining pools, saw its hashrate drop by nearly 200 EH/s since Friday. That represents a 60% decline in computing power dedicated to securing the Bitcoin network, according to Hashrate Index data.

Despite the sharp cutbacks, Foundry USA still commands about 198 EH/s of hashing power, or roughly 23% of global mining pool hashrate. However, the reduced capacity has slowed temporary block production on the network to around 12 minutes per block.

Other mining pools that serve US-based customers, including Luxor, have also reported declining output as operators respond to emergency weather conditions. That said, the coordinated response highlights how large-scale mining farms can quickly scale down electricity usage when grid reliability is at risk.

Industry operators describe large mining facilities as a highly controllable load resource for regional grids. They can ramp power consumption up or down within minutes, helping balance the system during peaks in demand or troughs in consumer usage. In this case, miners have voluntarily shut down rigs to allow more energy to flow to residential customers.

Widespread outages and dangerous ice build-up

More than 800,000 homes and businesses nationwide are currently without power as heavy ice and snow from Fern bring down lines. Ice layers of more than 0.75 inches have coated branches and power cables, causing substantial infrastructure damage across multiple states.

The majority of outages have been reported in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. However, the storm’s footprint extends much wider, with the Southeast, Northeast, and parts of the Midwest all seeing disruptive conditions, hazardous travel, and school closures.

The winter system is projected to stretch approximately 1,800 miles across the United States. Moreover, some weather stations in Mississippi have been knocked offline by ice-related failures, depriving government forecasters and first responders of real-time local condition data.

As ice continues to accumulate over coming days, authorities warn that the risk of additional outages remains elevated. That said, grid operators are deploying crews and activating emergency procedures to restore service as fast as conditions allow.

Grid operators brace for record demand and prolonged cold

The PJM Interconnection grid, which stretches from Chicago to Washington DC, has warned it is preparing for seven straight days of extreme electricity demand. This length of winter pressure is something the grid operator says it has never previously experienced.

To prevent rolling blackouts, PJM is paying major customers, including large manufacturers, to reduce consumption. Moreover, these demand-response measures are being layered on top of curtailments from flexible industrial users such as mining farms.

In Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot) expects record demand of 86 gigawatts on Monday, a new all-time high that would surpass the peak recorded in August 2023. However, the grid is already facing tight conditions due to lost generation capacity and transmission line problems around San Antonio and Houston.

Power markets have reacted sharply. Day-ahead electricity prices for Monday in PJM territory have climbed to their highest levels since the polar vortex in early 2014. In Texas, power priced for Monday’s peak-demand hours surged 1,200% from Sunday’s average to reach $516.25 per megawatt-hour.

At the same time, natural gas prices spiked when trading reopened late Sunday. The US benchmark jumped as much as 19% to more than $6 per million British thermal units, the highest level seen since 2022. Moreover, elevated gas prices could further stress generators and consumers if the cold snap lingers.

Federal emergency orders and data center backup power

In response to the intensifying winter energy emergency, the US Energy Department has issued emergency orders authorizing PJM to run power plants at maximum capacity. This includes facilities fueled by coal and oil, even when that conflicts with existing environmental restrictions or state-level rules.

Similar emergency waivers have been granted for ISO New England and the Texas grid. However, federal officials have also moved to expand available backup power by tapping nontraditional sources, including large data centers.

Washington has directed grid operators to make use of standby capacity from facilities such as data centers wherever possible. In particular, the Energy Department ordered Ercot to deploy backup diesel generators at data centers during periods of acute system stress. Moreover, this approach is meant to keep critical digital infrastructure online without adding further strain to the main grid.

President Donald Trump has approved emergency aid for a dozen states affected by storm Fern. The declaration releases federal equipment and funding to support shelter operations, evacuations, and other disaster-response services. That said, state and local agencies remain on the front line of immediate relief and restoration work.

Travel disruptions and life-threatening temperatures

The storm’s impact is not limited to energy markets and the grid. Airlines have already canceled more than 3,500 weekday flights across the US as of late Sunday evening, snarling travel plans nationwide. Moreover, transportation disruptions are expected to continue as snow and ice persist.

In New York City, officials announced that roughly 500,000 public school students will shift to remote instruction on Monday due to unsafe conditions. However, some districts elsewhere are attempting to keep buildings open to provide heating and meals to vulnerable students.

Dallas remains under an extreme cold warning until Tuesday, with wind chills forecast to plunge as low as -10F. Overnight lows in Washington DC are expected to struggle to reach 10F for much of the week, while parts of the upper Midwest face wind chills near -40F.

These life-threatening temperatures, coupled with fragile grid conditions, increase the urgency of voluntary load reductions. In this context, large-scale mining facilities curtailing bitcoin mining activity become part of a broader strategy to prioritize residential heating and essential infrastructure.

Bitcoin miners as flexible grid partners

During this storm, operators have demonstrated in practice how bitcoin mining operations tend to maximize profits by running continuously under normal conditions but can quickly pause when power prices spike or reliability is threatened. Moreover, this flexibility is increasingly cited by industry advocates as a potential benefit to grids facing volatile demand patterns.

For now, Fern underscores how extreme weather, surging fuel costs, and record electricity usage can intersect to disrupt both digital and physical infrastructure. However, the voluntary response from miners, combined with federal emergency measures and demand-response programs, may help limit the scale of blackouts as the cold spell persists.

In summary, winter storm Fern has become a real-time stress test for US power systems, energy markets, and the rapidly growing Bitcoin mining sector, with operators temporarily sacrificing revenue to keep lights and heating on for consumers.