In the Irkutsk region of Russia, the residents have been claiming that the cause of power shortage is due to the mining activities carried out in households. Load shading has become a usual norm in the region.
Crypto mining is a supervised and licensed activity in Russia and therefore a legal activity. It is also known globally that in terms of electricity sources, Russia is an electricity-rich country. Also, the electricity tariff is cheap in Russia as compared to other states of the world.
Its energy sources are such that it is also selling electricity to neighboring countries as well. For instance, Kazakhstan Government has recently entered into an electricity purchase deal with a private power producing company in Russia.
However, in recent times, load shading is also apparent in several regions of Russia. Irkutsk is amongst those regions where electricity shortage is becoming a major problem. For the past few weeks, there has been load shading taking place in the region.
It has been noted by the regional electricity authority that power consumption in the region has increased manifold. The authority believes that the ordinary consumer’s electricity has been used for commercial purposes as well.
In this connection, an inquiry was approved and the local authority’s officials concluded their investigation. They have given the findings that the major cause of the electricity shortage is the crypto mining operations.
The officials further revealed that many people in the region have turned their houses into mining farms. They are utilizing their warehouses, garages, basements, etc. for minting cryptocurrencies.
Russian ordinary consumers of electricity are provided with subsidized electricity at cheaper rates. However, using this subsidized electricity for commercial purposes such as crypto mining is an illegal activity.
Also within the region of Irkutsk, there are miners engaged in their mining operations. However, all of them are registered miners and have been carrying out their activities under the supervision of the regional authorities. Furthermore, these licensed miners have been paying commercial rates on the electricity tariffs applicable to them.
So ultimately it is the non-registered miners who are causing the electricity shortage in the region. Particularly, those who are carrying out such activities in households on the basis of electricity which is subsidized and not for commercial use.
The regional Government in Irkutsk, as well as the local authorities, have therefore decided to initiate some steps. But before taking some action, the authorities have decided to upgrade the existing system as well. It wants to first increase the capacity of electricity production for the region.
As regards the miners, the authorities have decided to immediately increase the tariff so that electricity consumption can be reduced. At the same time, special platforms will be established in the region for inviting miners to conduct their operations there.