TEHRAN- The electricity of authorized cryptocurrency mining units will be cut off from the beginning of the next Iranian calendar month Tir (Wednesday, June 22) until the end of the restriction, the Iranian Energy Ministry’s Spokesman for the electricity sector Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi announced.

Currently, there are 118 authorized cryptocurrency mining units in the country, which must cut off their electricity supply from the national grid from the beginning of next month, Rajabi Mashhadi reiterated.

Last week, the country's electricity consumption recorded a record of 62,500 megawatts (MW) during peak consumption, which is a significant figure, he said, adding that according to forecasts, the consumption requirement this [Iranian calendar] week (ends on Friday) will exceed 63,000 MW, which means a limited supply of electricity.

Following the Iranian government’s approval of cryptocurrency mining as industrial activity in 2019, numerous companies started mining cryptocurrency across the country thanks to the extremely low-cost electricity, and now Iranian power plants started to see this industry as an opportunity to increase their revenues.

In January 2020, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade issued over 1,000 licenses for cryptocurrency mining units.

In addition to the approved units, some unauthorized miners have also started using household electricity for cryptocurrency mining and this has created major issues for the country’s electricity industry which is already facing serious problems created by drought and reduced rainfall.

MA/MA