Russia Considers Cutting Power Supply To Crypto Miners Amid Energy Shortages

According to Odaily, as Bitcoin miners continue to increase their capacity, the Russian Ministry of Energy is considering cutting off power supplies to crypto miners during energy shortages. Reports indicate that Russian crypto miners produced approximately $3.5 billion worth of Bitcoin last year. Deputy Minister of Energy Yevgeny Grabchak stated that power suppliers should have the right to cut off miners' power supply at any time. However, Grabchak reiterated the Ministry's earlier stance this year. Officials claimed last month that power companies might soon provide excess power to miners, noting that miners are a new category of consumers. These issues are being actively discussed, and there is often spare capacity in the grid when there is no peak demand. Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev mentioned in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that crypto miners should be prepared to move to regions without energy shortages. Meanwhile, Grabchak stated that the industry would be allowed to choose whether to self-limit its power usage or use automated IT solutions. He explained that if there is no capacity shortage, which has been the case for most of this year, excess capacity might be provided to some consumers, but only if they limit their consumption. Alternatively, they can install automated solutions to disconnect from the grid.