While this added consumption guarantees elevated income for utilities, the demand also can show fickle.
“Crypto mining operations are price-sensitive entities that could be rapidly scaled again or shut down if mining turns into uneconomical,” Fitch famous.
Utilities which have the out there capability to serve crypto miners should contemplate the prices and advantages of assembly a giant, new demand as an alternative of retaining capability for different alternatives, it advised.
“Crypto mining operations sometimes usher in little or no further financial advantages within the type of jobs or ancillary enterprise to a native financial system,” the report mentioned.
For utilities the place provide is constrained, the dangers are even larger. They could have to contemplate whether or not to spend money on constructing new capability or procuring energy from different markets to satisfy demand that will finally show ephemeral, Fitch mentioned.
Utilities that construct capability to be able to meet the demand from crypto miners take the danger that they are going to be left with stranded property and prices to recuperate (sometimes by elevating costs on remaining prospects) if the mining operation shuts down.
This may result in adverse strain on credit score scores “if working margins are compressed” or liquidity is weakened by prices inflicted by failed crypto mining.
So far, utilities have addressed these dangers by limiting their commitments to crypto mining operations, or by structuring their preparations to guard the utility if a miner ceases operations, Fitch mentioned.
For occasion, utilities in Washington have handled elevated demand from crypto miners by adopting practices reminiscent of introducing new price constructions, setting buyer focus limits, and imposing load moratoriums on crypto mining, it reported.
https://www.investmentexecutive.com/information/research-and-markets/crypto-mining-a-growing-concern-for-utilities-fitch/