The Russian Energy Ministry is seeking the authority to disconnect crypto miners from energy grids as Bitcoin miners expand their operations. Reports suggest Russian miners produced approximately $3.5 billion worth of Bitcoin last year.
Yevgeny Grabchak, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Energy, mentioned in a Vedomosti article that power providers should have the ability to “disconnect” miners from the grid “at any time.” Earlier, the ministry suggested that power firms might provide miners with surplus electricity. Grabchak highlighted that miners are a new category of consumers, and there’s often available capacity on grids without peak electricity usage.
Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev advised that crypto miners should relocate to areas in the country with no energy shortages. Grabchak added that the industry could either self-limit power usage or employ “automatic” IT solutions. President Vladimir Putin has endorsed the industrial crypto mining sector, but he directed the government to prevent miners from disrupting power grids, an issue previously observed in regions like Abkhazia and Kazakhstan.
Irkutsk, Buryatia, and Transbaikal are prominent Bitcoin mining locations, with Irkutsk facing power issues, leading to a regional crackdown on illegal miners. Experts estimate around a third of Russian crypto miners operate near Irkutsk, consuming about 1,000 MW, with home-based miners using about 130 MW.
There is a trend of miners moving from Southern Russia and Siberia. Developers in Perm have completed a 440sqm mining farm, and Gazprom launched a crypto mining subsidiary working on a 500-rig mining farm in Veliky Novgorod. Additionally, Komi’s regional governor announced plans to build 15 new crypto mining “data centers” in collaboration with private miners and contractors.
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