Media: Miners in Sichuan will be allowed to operate until September

The authorities of China\’s Sichuan Province have ordered local miners to prepare for shutdown by September 2021. This was reported by SCMP citing industry sources.

The decision followed a meeting held in early June between officials and industry representatives. According to the press, organized by the regulator and the local branch of the national grid operator, a seminar with Bitcoin miners took place in a cordial atmosphere without any resolutions.

Recently, authorities in several regions of China, including Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, have imposed restrictive measures against mining, up to a full ban, as in Qinghai Province.

A Hong Kong publication noted that in this case the equipment is powered predominantly by coal-fired generation, while Sichuan miners draw on excess hydroelectric power.

Its quantity is enough to sustain existing farms, industry representatives say.

“During periods of high demand (summer), the amount of electricity generated will triple, and cooling demand in hot weather will increase by only 30%,” said Jiang Zhuer, founder of the BTC.TOP mining pool.

Chinese miners traditionally migrate to Sichuan for the \’high-water\’ period, which usually lasts from May to October. During this time, the output of local power plants rises sharply, providing surplus electricity and low tariffs.

In April 2020, Sichuan authorities considered the possibility of creating “powerful blockchain centres” to efficiently utilise the region\’s surplus electricity.

In May 2020, media reported that the provincial finance administration had demanded orderly cessation of mining activities by subordinate agencies. This occurred amid electricity shortages and outages of some farms from the grid.

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