Iran’s authorities plan to deplug crypto-mining facilities that are licensed. This is because Iran’s electricity consumption has reached record levels. The mining farms will be cut off from the grid on Wednesday, the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Energy announced.
Iran Electricity Shortage Causes Legal Cryptominers to Stop Operation
The authorized crypto mining companies in Iran must unplug power-hungry equipment starting at Tir (the next month on the Iranian calendar), or Wednesday June 22. Tehran Times quotes Mostafarajabi Mashhadi as the Ministry of Energy’s spokesperson.
According to the official, the measures will apply to all 118 licensed miners currently working in the Islamic Republic. Temporary restrictions will be in place after the nation’s electricity consumption reached 62,500 megawatts (MW), during peak hours last Wednesday.
Mashhadi said that this week’s power demand, which is Friday according to local calendars, was expected to rise to 63,000MW. The energy ministry’s representative described these figures as significant and warned that they will lead to a limited electricity supply across the nation.
Iranian authorities legalized cryptocurrency mining in 2019 as an industrial activity. Numerous companies have since applied for permits from the Ministry of Industry to begin extracting digital currencies using low-cost electricity provided by Iranian power plants.
Apart from the authorized mining operations, increasing numbers of Iranians have set up mining facilities using subsidised household electricity in order to create digital coins. This has led to serious issues for the power generation industry, which is now facing problems from lower than forecast rainfall and high demand due to hot weather. In May, a report revealed that Iran had busted nearly 7,000 illegal crypto-farms.
The country’s electricity shortages and frequent blackouts last summer were partially blamed on increased power usage for mining and even licensed miners were ordered to shut down. After being allowed to resume operation in September, they were again requested to cease all activities due to the growing winter power deficit.
Do you think power supply issues will continue to dog Iran’s crypto mining industry? Comment below with your opinions.
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