The US Senate held a hearing on the use of blockchain in energy

A hearing on energy and natural resources was held by the US Senate Committee on August 21 in Washington. Its main topics were blockchain and related technologies, as well as the possibilities of their use in the field of energy security. The Committee also considered the issue of a possible increase in electricity prices due to increased demand for it in the mining industry.

The speakers included Thomas A. Golden, program director at the Electric Power Research Institute (ERPI), who reported that research into blockchain's capabilities has shown the technology's promising potential for energy supply and security. 

ERPI created the Utility Blockchain Interest Group (UBIG), which consists of almost 40 energy companies. UBIG conducts pilot testing of the institute's initiatives and developments. In addition, the institute launched the development of an energy market simulator based on blockchain. 

Arvind Narayanan, an associate professor of computer science at Princeton University, states: "Blockchain-based markets could be more attractive than centralized trading platforms. Other initiatives could in the future allow customers to directly trade electricity with each other on a peer-to-peer basis. Through such platforms, people could, for example, buy and sell excess electricity from rooftop solar panels. Despite this, peer-to-peer trading is still requires the cooperation of utilities, which ultimately control the flow of electricity.”

Narayan also noted the potential of blockchain in the security field, saying that “legislators and law enforcement agencies should consider this technology as one of the possible technical tools to solve cybersecurity problems.” 

According to cointelegraph.com