Iranian government to cut power supply for the authorized crypto mining rigs


The electricity of all legal
cryptocurrency mining units will be cut off from the start of the next Iranian
calendar month Tir (Wednesday, June 22) for the rest of the restriction,
Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the Spokesperson of the Iranian Energy Ministry for
the electricity sector declared.
At present, there are 118 government-approved
cryptocurrency mining units in the country, which must remove their electricity
supply from the national grid from the very outset of the following month, the
spokesperson emphasized.
Last week, the country's power
utilization recorded a record of 62,500 megawatts (MW) during peak consumption,
which is a huge figure, he said, adding that as per forecasts, the consumption necessity
this [Iranian calendar] week (ends on Friday) will surpass 63,000 MW, which implies
a restricted supply of electricity.
Because of international
sanctions, misses the mark on the investment required in power generation
capacity and natural gas production to keep up with consumption. Following the
Iranian government’s approval of cryptocurrency mining as industrial activity
in 2019, numerous companies started mining cryptocurrency across the country thanks
to the very low-cost electricity, and now Iranian power plants began to consider
this industry to be a chance to expand their incomes.
In January 2020, the Ministry of
Industry, Mining and Trade gave over 1,000 licenses for crypto mining units.
Notwithstanding the approved
units, a few unauthorized miners have also begun involving household
electricity for cryptocurrency mining and this has made significant issues for
the country’s electricity industry which is already facing serious problems
created by reduced rainfall & drought.

Joyashree Dey
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA