Kevin Hamilton opened his short talk at Mining Disrupt Miami 2024 with the weather. The United States had just been through five or so days of extreme, unhealthy heat, he said, across California, Arizona, New York and the Upper Midwest. For miners connected to the grid, he told the room, that heat was a reminder of what their electric loads are for when the grid is stressed.
Hamilton is CEO of NuEnergen, a company that provides energy cost optimization services to mining clients in North America. He spoke during what he called the "Wednesday afternoon speed dating" sessions of the conference, which ran June 24–26, 2024 in Miami. Bitcoin traded at $61,272 when the conference opened; on October 19, 2026 it traded at $82,430.
Curtailable load that keeps the lights on
His first point was about the grid rather than the bill. When temperatures climb and the power grid is under strain, he said, miners' loads are available for curtailment, and that keeps power flowing to everyone else.
there is not another industry in the United States that has electric loads that are as dispatchable curtailable as Miners
Kevin Hamilton · 1:12
He tied that to the people it protects: infirm and elderly people, and family members. He asked the audience to keep it in mind when some policymakers say unkind things about the mining community, and called the people who own and operate mines critical resources for the reliability of the US power grid.
Think of the mine as a power plant
Then he turned to his company's subject, energy cost optimization. Unlike a few years ago, he said, mine owners ought to think of their mines as power plants. The way to cut electricity cost is to make those sites available for curtailment in the programs that exist across the country, and those programs come in different flavors.
He listed the main ones: traditional demand response, capacity-based demand response, and bidding consumption or capacity into wholesale energy markets on a day-ahead or real-time basis. In the last case a miner, or a provider such as NuEnergen bidding on the miner's behalf, is paid for not consuming electricity. He told operators to build relationships with demand response providers and energy services companies to learn what is available where they run.
monetizing your energy whether you use it or not
Kevin Hamilton · 3:26
That line, he said, was why it was the headline on his slide.
Tariffs, purchasing and bill audits
The second part of the equation starts while a site is still being developed. Operators should make sure they are on the right tariff. In a deregulated market with a choice of electric supply, they should have a rational electricity purchasing strategy, whether with third-party providers or the local utility.
it's also wise and prudent to have a third party auditing your electric bills
Kevin Hamilton · 3:57
"Trust me, there will be errors in those bills," he added. Electricity, he noted, is among the largest cost centers in a miner's operating expenses.
More than a penny per kilowatt hour
Hamilton then put the pieces together: the right tariff, someone auditing the bills, and participation in the different demand response programs across the country. Rolled up, he said, those strategies can make a measurable difference to a mine's power cost.
you might be able to shave more than a penny or so per kilowatt hour off of your energy cost center
Kevin Hamilton · 4:34
He called that very meaningful for miners and invited attendees to speak with his team, who were on the other side of the curtain in the hall.
Back to the heatwave
He closed where he began. He asked miners to understand the value their sites had provided to communities during the previous week's heat.
there is a community benefit to bitcoin miners being available to curtail electric load when asked to do so
Kevin Hamilton · 5:06
Curtailing on request, he said, helps keep the lights on and avoid a blackout or a brownout. The full six-minute session is embedded above.
Mining Disrupt 2027 runs March 22–24, 2027 in Irving, Texas.