Russia Proposes New Fines for Illicit Miners

The Expert Council under the Russian government has advocated for the implementation of remote energy consumption checks to combat illicit miners, according to Izvestia.

In cases where actual power usage exceeds the amount declared in bills, it is proposed to fine violators, calculating the penalty based on industrial rates.

Currently, bills for excessive electricity consumption are issued at residential rates. The state curbs the growth of these rates by increasing tariffs for businesses. The volume of such cross-subsidization amounts to about 300 billion rubles annually.

Potential new fines for miners could range from hundreds of thousands to millions of rubles, sources in the energy sector told the publication.

The Expert Council believes that a unified federal-level penalty principle will intensify the fight against violators who cause disruptions in energy supplies to the public.

The proposal will be submitted for government consideration on May 16.

Since autumn 2023, the Ministry of Energy has advocated for increased electricity transmission tariffs. The main focus is expected to be on Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal Territory, and the Irkutsk region, to encourage miners to move to regions with surplus capacity.

Meanwhile, Russian economists have proposed disconnecting large cryptocurrency mining data centers during energy shortages.

Back in late April, a new version of the mining regulation bill was submitted to the Russian State Duma. Among other things, it includes a ban on organizing cryptocurrency circulation except for experimental central bank regimes and the sale of coins by miners.