The Ministry of Energy is preparing to significantly increase electricity transmission tariffs for major cryptocurrency mining centers, which is one of the reasons for the energy shortage in Siberia. The publication writes about this “Kommersant”.
There is currently not enough capacity in this region to serve other consumers, and 1.23 GW of power plants need to be built by 2029, costing more than 430 billion rubles. According to regulators, the increase in tariffs will force crypto farms to move to other regions.
The volume of industrial cryptocurrency mining in Russia has almost tripled in the last three years, approaching 2 GW (about 12% of global mining capacity). After the mining ban in China and the introduction of strict restrictions in Kazakhstan, crypto farms began to actively develop in Siberian regions in 2021.
Russian energy engineers were not prepared for such a rapid emergence of a new energy-intensive consumer. According to regulators, farms have “exhausted” the available energy capacity in southeastern Siberia, and it is already impossible to connect industrial, social and public facilities to the energy system.
The Ministry of Energy is taking decisive action: in late September it announced the development of new regulatory rules for mining hubs. Authorities are proposing to significantly increase electricity transmission tariffs for crypto farms in energy-strapped regions. Such changes would set a precedent, as the industry has hitherto been founded on the principles of equal treatment of all consumers.
Before that in Siberia would increase Energy production thanks to miners.
Previously recognized Conditions for Bitcoin to grow tenfold.