Recent energy market trends in ERCOT and PJM have revealed extreme price volatility, significantly impacting industries with high electricity consumption–such as bitcoin mining. The PJM capacity auction for 2025-2026 has led to an 833% increase in capacity charges, while ERCOT faces grid reliability challenges that create energy price spikes that are difficult to predict. These fluctuations can quickly turn mining operations unprofitable when electricity costs surpass mining revenue [source: integrity.com].

To address this issue, Braiins Manager has introduced the Strike Price Curtailment feature, enabling miners to automatically pause mining when electricity prices exceed a user-defined threshold and resume once prices drop below it.

Real-World Example: How Strike Price Curtailment Saves Costs in ERCOT’s Houston load zone (LZ_HOUSTON)

To demonstrate the effectiveness of Strike Price Curtailment, let’s analyze a hypothetical mining operation in ERCOT’s LZ_HOUSTON load zone from January 1, 2025, to March 15, 2025.

• Mining Operation: 30 MW farm with 10,000 Antminer S19 XP units
• Miner Efficiency: 21.5 J/TH
• Breakeven Energy Price: $90/MWh
• Market Zone: ERCOT, LZ_HOUSTON

As shown in the graph below, electricity prices in LZ_HOUSTON remained below the $90/MWh breakeven threshold for most of the period. However, there were several price spikes, including a sharp increase to $800/MWh in mid-February.

Impact of Strike Price Curtailment:

By setting a strike price of $90/MWh, the mining farm would have curtailed operations during extreme price surges, leading to 98% uptime and 2% downtime due to high energy costs.

Resulting Cost Savings: Over the analyzed period, Strike Price Curtailment would have saved approximately 10% of accrued electricity costs, translating to an estimated $165,000 in savings since the beginning of the year.

This example highlights how dynamic energy price fluctuations can make mining unprofitable and how automated curtailment protects profitability while maximizing uptime.

Understanding Strike Price Curtailment

The Strike Price Curtailment feature in Braiins Manager allows miners to set a specific electricity price threshold–known as the “strike price”–above which mining operations are automatically paused. When electricity prices exceed this predefined threshold, mining is temporarily halted to prevent unprofitable operations. Once prices fall back below the strike price, mining activities automatically resume. This automation helps maintain profitability by avoiding high energy costs during peak pricing periods.

Key Features of Strike Price Curtailment

Integration with Day-Ahead Market (DAM) Prices: The feature integrates with DAM energy prices from supported energy markets, including ERCOT, PJM, and Nord Pool. This integration allows miners to make informed decisions based on real-time market data.

Customizable Curtailment Strategies: Miners can define curtailment triggers (strike prices) tailored to different miner models, considering varying efficiency levels measured in J/TH. This customization ensures that curtailment strategies align with specific operational efficiencies.

Enhanced Profitability: By curtailing mining during periods of high electricity prices, miners can avoid operating at a loss, thereby enhancing overall profitability.

Implementing Strike Price Curtailment in Braiins Manager

Managing mining profitability requires more than just monitoring energy prices–it demands an automated approach to curtail mining at the right time. That’s where Strike Price Curtailment comes into play.

Setting up Strike Price Curtailment is simple. Miners first link their mining location to real-time energy pricing data by selecting the appropriate Independent System Organization (ISO) or Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) and pricing zone.

Once connected, strike price profiles can be defined based on miner models, IP ranges, or other conditions, ensuring precise control over curtailment decisions.

Once configured, the process is fully automated: Braiins Manager will continuously monitor energy prices and apply rules without manual intervention. Miners can easily track price fluctuations, view scheduled curtailments, and adjust their profiles as market conditions change. This hands-off approach means miners can focus on maximizing uptime while letting Braiins Manager handle profitability protection automatically.

The Strike Price Curtailment feature in Braiins Manager empowers miners to proactively manage their operations amidst volatile energy markets. By integrating day ahead energy pricing data and allowing customizable curtailment strategies, this feature helps maintain profitability and operational efficiency, ensuring that mining activities remain economically viable even during periods of soaring electricity prices.

Sign up for Braiins Manager to try it for yourself.