(Bloomberg) -- Crypto miner Riot Blockchain Inc. pledged to shut down its huge Bitcoin-making operation in Texas to conserve electricity if need be as a wave of cold and ice deliver the biggest test of the state’s power grid since last year’s deadly blackouts.

Riot Chief Executive Officer Jason Les, told Governor Greg Abbott this week he’d shut down the Whinstone Bitcoin mining complex, the state’s largest, if asked to do so by the operator of the power grid. On Monday, Les and Whinstone CEO Chad Harris began to prepare the facility, located northeast of Austin, to turn off its banks of Bitcoin mining servers quickly, the company said in an emailed statement. 

“Whinstone began taking proactive measures to prepare for shutting down its mining operations in response to any demand surges in Ercot,” Riot said, referring to grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The mine uses enough electricity to power about 60,000 homes in the state.

One way Ercot can try to avert blackouts in a storm is by using its so-called demand response programs, where industrial users voluntarily agree to shut down to conserve power, if asked. The programs don’t come free: The grid operator pays miners when they shut down.

In February 2021, as winter storm Uri triggered blackouts across the state, the Whinstone mine reduced electricity use or shut down completely for almost eight days. The plant trims power use or shuts for as many as 275 hours per year as part of its participation in Ercot’s programs.

Bitcoin miners, which are flooding Texas because of the state’s cheap electricity, have made participation in these programs a key talking point in lobbying Abbott to create incentives for their industry. The Texas Blockchain Council, the Bitcoin mining industry lobbying group, also contacted the governor’s office with pledges to power down operations ahead of this week’s freeze as needed.

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