US Energy Secretary Pushes for Faster Grid Access for AI and Bitcoin Miners

In a significant policy move, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish new regulations that would fast-track power grid access for large-scale electricity consumers such as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and Bitcoin mining operations.

In a letter released Thursday, Wright urged FERC to develop “standardized, expedited procedures” allowing major electricity users to connect directly to the nation’s high-voltage transmission grid, which typically serves heavy industrial consumers. The proposal aims to reduce the time it takes for companies to gain grid access from several years to as little as 60 days.

“United States electricity demand is expected to grow at an extraordinary pace, due, in large part, to the rapid growth of large loads,” Wright stated, citing accelerating electrification trends and the surge in commercial energy consumption driven by AI data centers and Bitcoin mining facilities.

The suggested reforms would require applicants to meet specific conditions, such as covering the costs of any necessary grid upgrades, in exchange for expedited approval. Wright has requested that FERC issue a formal response by April 30, 2026.

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The move has drawn praise from the cryptocurrency sector. CleanSpark CEO S. Matthew Schultz posted on X that the initiative “recognizes the value of flexible demand in strengthening the grid,” noting that Bitcoin miners and AI centers could help balance energy loads during peak and off-peak hours.

Bitcoin mining, a process that validates blockchain transactions and secures the network through computational effort, consumes vast amounts of electricity. Meanwhile, AI training and inference workloads have become one of the fastest-growing sources of data center demand globally.

If adopted, the proposal could reshape U.S. energy infrastructure policy, potentially accelerating both digital innovation and industrial energy demand, while intensifying the debate over how best to balance economic growth, energy reliability, and environmental sustainability in the coming decade.