Residential electricity consumption in Irkutsk Oblast quadrupled in 2021 due to miners

Due to the so-called ‘grey’ mining in Irkutsk Oblast, residential electricity consumption rose fourfold last year compared with 2020. This was reported by ТАСС in a statement by Evgeny Vechkanov, the director of development and technological connections at the Irkutsk Electric Grid Company.

Oleg Prichko, head of Baikal Energy Company, confirmed that the rise is linked to miners. He said the region is seeing a mass relocation of equipment for cryptocurrency mining from China:

«There are trucks carrying from China equipment that has become unnecessary there due to the ban. There is now a lot of practically free equipment there, and it is migrating to Irkutsk Oblast».

There has also been an increase in the number of mining-device thefts. In 2021, law enforcement authorities in the region registered 344 such crimes.

Authorities in Irkutsk Oblast believe that curbing “undue use” of electricity by miners will be aided by regulating tariffs for households based on consumption. This was reported to RBC by the press service of the governor and regional government.

Tariff differentiation will reduce the burden on business, encourage electricity conservation, and enable a more targeted approach to subsidising households, the authorities say.

In October, Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev, in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak complained about ‘underground miners’.

He said that many residents of the region are outfitting mining farms, drawing electricity at the reduced residential tariffs.

Novak proposed to legally enshrine cryptocurrency mining as a form of entrepreneurial activity. Earlier, with a similar initiative, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma committee on the financial market, advocated the idea, was supported by representatives of several ministries.

The Irkutsk region was also proposed to be made a pilot region for moving miners out of the ‘grey zone’.

In January, the Bank of Russia proposed to ban the circulation and mining of cryptocurrencies on Russian territory.

Among mining-related risks, the regulator noted heavy loads on power grids, a rising demand for infrastructure to conduct cryptocurrency operations, and ecological damage. Experts consulted by ForkLog criticised these arguments.

Not everyone supports the Bank of Russia’s prohibitive stance. In the words of Anatoly Aksakov, the Bank of Russia occupies the harshest position among regulators.

Vladimir Gutenev, head of the State Duma committee on industry and trade, stated that mining farms should not be banned if they operate under strict government oversight.

President Vladimir Putin said Russia has competitive advantages in mining — an electricity surplus and well-trained personnel. The media also reported that Putin advocated legalising cryptocurrency mining in Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Karelia. Later in the Kremlin refuted this information.

According to sources close to the government, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshko ordered to include in the roadmap for regulating the crypto industry issues related to mining. Earlier they were to be considered separately due to “special specifics”.

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