Monday · August 11, 2025

Texas Public Utility Commission sues AG Ken Paxton to block release of Bitcoin miner facility data; invokes terrorism threat to shield SB 1929 registration records from journalists

confirmed Importance 8/10 ~3 min read 2 sources 2 actors

Opening

In June 2025, the Public Utility Commission of Texas filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office to prevent the release of cryptocurrency mining facility registration data — the same data that Senate Bill 1929 (2023) had mandated facilities disclose. When journalists from Straight Arrow News and The Texas Tribune filed public information requests for the data, AG Paxton’s office ruled it should be released; the PUCT sued to block the ruling. The Texas Tribune reported on the suit’s existence on August 11, 2025.

What Happened / Key Facts

The underlying data: SB 1929 (2023) required cryptocurrency mining facilities consuming more than 75 MW with at least 10% interruptible load to register with the PUCT by February 1, 2025. Required disclosures included facility names, locations, owners, energy demand, and consumption data.

The journalist requests: Reporters from Straight Arrow News and The Texas Tribune filed public information requests for the registration records after the February 2025 deadline passed.

AG Paxton’s ruling (May 15, 2025): Assistant AG Blake Brennan determined that the PUCT “failed to demonstrate” the information identified “technical details of particular vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure to an act of terrorism” — meaning the terrorism exception to public records law did not apply, and the data should be released.

PUCT’s counter and lawsuit: The commission argued that releasing facility locations and load data “could be used by terrorists to plan attacks on Texas’s energy grid” through manipulation of electricity availability, and filed suit against Paxton’s office to prevent release.

Scale context: As of the suit’s filing, cryptocurrency mining was consuming approximately 2,600 MW of Texas grid capacity, with an additional 5,000 MW planned for connection in AEP’s Texas service territory alone — potentially more than doubling Austin’s current load equivalent.

Outcome: No court resolution was located in available research as of June 2026.

Why This Event Matters

The PUCT-vs.-Paxton suit is the clearest demonstration of how Texas’s regulatory and legal apparatus functions to protect mining industry secrecy. SB 1929 was presented as a transparency measure — it passed while the financial-cap bill (SB 1751) died — but its transparency value is undermined if the data collected cannot be accessed by the public or press.

The irony: the PUCT (a state regulatory agency, not the mining industry) became the party shielding the data, while AG Paxton’s office (no ally of journalists) was the entity arguing for release. The mining industry did not need to fight the disclosure directly — the regulatory body it is supposed to be regulated by was doing it for them.

This connects directly to task-inv6-crypto-energy-no-federal-data-gap: the federal data gap (EIA mandatory survey killed by industry lawsuit in early 2024) now has a state-level parallel. Texas’s SB 1929 data, which would be the most detailed U.S. state dataset on mining power use, is now in legal limbo.

Broader Context

The PUCT suit follows the same pattern as the DOE/EIA mandatory survey fight: attempts to establish authoritative, public data on mining power consumption are blocked at each level (federal by Riot Platforms/Texas Blockchain Council lawsuit; state by the PUCT’s own lawsuit). The “no authoritative data” condition is not accidental — it is actively maintained by both private-sector litigation and, in this case, by a regulatory agency acting in apparent alignment with the industry it regulates.

Research Gaps

  • Court docket number and jurisdiction for the PUCT vs. Paxton suit.
  • Outcome of the litigation (filed June 2025; ruling if any as of research date).
  • Whether the PUCT took this action independently or in response to industry pressure; any communications between PUCT and mining operators before filing.
  • Whether other Texas agencies have similarly blocked release of SB 1929 registration data.

Sources & Citations

[1] State utility commission sues Texas attorney general to avoid releasing data on crypto companies' power use — Texas Tribune · Aug 11, 2025 Tier 1
[2] Public Utility Commission sues Paxton's office over release of crypto miners' power usage — Texas Standard · Aug 11, 2025 Tier 2
Tiers Tier 1 court records & gov docs · Tier 2 established outlets · Tier 3 regional & specialty press · Tier 4 opinion or single-source. Methodology →
Cite this entry
The Cascade Ledger. “Texas Public Utility Commission sues AG Ken Paxton to block release of Bitcoin miner facility data; invokes terrorism threat to shield SB 1929 registration records from journalists.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, August 11, 2025. https://capturecascade.org/event/2025-08-11--puct-sues-ag-paxton-crypto-mining-data/