Russian energy sector proposes measures to curb illegal mining

The Association of Guaranteed Suppliers and Energy Retail Companies has prepared proposals to curb miners’ electricity consumption under residential tariffs. The letter with recommendations has been sent to Valery Seleznev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on energy.

The association identified the main problem related to mining as the consumption of electricity for mining cryptocurrencies under residential tariffs.

The document underscores the difficulties in assessing the damage from such activity in Russia, as the electricity used by miners is counted within the aggregate energy consumption of residents in the regions.

“One can judge the commercial use of electricity by citizens, including for mining, based on consumption volumes well above the average level (for example, more than 1,500 kWh per month in a household without electric heating)”, the letter says.

In this regard, the association proposed to require in the technical connection rules the obligation to indicate the purposes of electricity use. In case of “deviation from the declared purpose,” energy utilities propose to disconnect such consumers.

In addition, they want to obligate providers to supply networks with information about miners’ IP addresses and to specify liability for violations of the rules on the use of utilities. In particular, this concerns “repeated failure to provide access to the electrical installation for inspection and use of electricity for non-household purposes”.

The association expects that the proposals will be included in the draft conclusions following the meeting of the Expert Council under the Committee on Energy, dedicated to discussing the Bank of Russia’s report.

Earlier, the central bank proposed to ban mining on the territory of the Russian Federation. As one of the arguments for such a move, the regulator cited the high load on power networks.

However, hardly anyone shares the Bank of Russia’s restrictive stance. The Finance Ministry believes that the crypto industry needs to be regulated. According to the media, the government is leaning toward the ministry’s position, and not toward the Bank of Russia.

Many government officials have spoken in favor of an initiative to classify mining as entrepreneurship and establish special tariffs.

Mining is not currently prohibited in Russia, and a clear regulatory framework has not been set out.

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