New York State Senator Liz Krueger introduced a bill on Wednesday to impose excise taxes on energy used by crypto mining companies operating facilities in the state.
The proposed excise tax, which is not the first legislative initiative of its kind, will be levied in tiers, with no charge for miners consuming 2.25 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) or less per year and a tax of 2 cents per kWh for miners who consume 2.26 million to 5 million kWh annually.
Miners who consume between 5 million-10 million kWh per year face a tax of 3 cents per kWh; those using up to 20 million kWh will be charged 4 cents per kWh; and any miner consuming over 20 million kWh per year will be charged a tax of 5 cents per kWh.
The proposal exempts miners using 100% renewable energy; clean energy miners were allowed to operate in New York under the two-year mining ban moratorium, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, which expired in 2024.
Crypto mining is a highly competitive business with narrow profit margins. Imposing an energy tax further erodes those margins and could drive miners reliant on grid electricity out of the Empire State and to jurisdictions without the added expense.
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Electricity cost is a matter of life or death in the mining industry
Mining companies that have the resources to secure land, build facilities, and develop the infrastructure required to harness renewable energy resources in remote locations, mitigate or sidestep the variable cost of energy, a critical input for mining.
This gives these companies a competitive advantage over smaller miners and large players that tap into electrical grid energy metered at retail prices.
The median cost of mining a single Bitcoin (BTC) crossed $70,000 in Q2 2025, amid rising mining difficulty and network hashrate, according to TheMinerMag.
Energy prices in the first quarter of 2025 rose to about $0.08 per kWh, doubling costs relative to revenue for TeraWulf, a mining company with a facility in upstate New York, causing it to record a loss of $61.4 million during the period.
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