A Texas court will soon consider a motion filed by two cryptocurrency companies seeking to stop a federal survey of energy use in crypto mining. Judge Alan Albright of the U.S. District Court for Western Texas previously granted a temporary restraining order against the survey conducted by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The lawsuit brought by the Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms argues the EIA lacks legal authority for its detailed data collection on electricity consumption by crypto miners. The companies claim the survey could expose restricted information and cause them harm.

In granting the temporary halt to the survey, Judge Albright suggested the EIA had skipped procedural steps and questioned whether the information demand met regulatory standards. The reprieve blocked the survey temporarily, protecting companies from penalties for noncompliance.

The EIA survey responds to rising concerns about the large energy appetite of crypto mining and its effects on the power grid. However, the lawsuit complainant argues the data demand unfairly targets their operations without an adequate public purpose or legal basis.