There is a total shortage of electricity in Kazakhstan. This situation is associated with system overloads due to the rapid growth of cryptocurrency mining. In turn, this was caused by the relocation of a large number of earners from China, where the authorities began to actively fight the extraction of digital currency.
The Financial Times estimated the increase in energy demand in Kazakhstan since the beginning of the year by 8%, while usually the growth of this indicator does not exceed 1-2% annually. According to the publication, about 88 thousand energy-intensive pieces of equipment for the production of cryptocurrency were transported to Kazakhstan from the Celestial Empire. According to the University of Cambridge, Kazakhstan currently ranks second after the United States in the list of countries attractive for mining.
To combat this phenomenon, taking into account accidents at three coal-fired power plants in northern Kazakhstan, the authorities initially decided to restrict farms from using more than 100 MW for two years. But then the Department of Energy removed this restriction for law-abiding miners.
To mitigate the consequences of the disruptions, the Kazakh power grid operator KEGOC has notified about electricity rationing for fifty state-registered miners. At the same time, officials, as an explanation of what is happening, point to the situation with an increase in the number of so-called "gray miners", which are persons without registration of activities, mining cryptocurrency bypassing the law. According to experts, these users are taking at least 1200 MW from the busy power system of Kazakhstan.
To improve the situation, from the beginning of next year, the authorities will begin to take an additional fee from bona fide miners in the amount of 1 tenge ($0.0023) per kWh. Prior to that, Kazakhstan is counting on the support of the Russian energy holding Inter RAO, whose help will come in handy after the onset of cold weather. The power shortage also affects the work of legal miners: for example, the Xive platform, which provides a place for mining equipment for customers, was recently forced to turn off about 2,500 installations.
The Financial Times estimated the increase in energy demand in Kazakhstan since the beginning of the year by 8%, while usually the growth of this indicator does not exceed 1-2% annually. According to the publication, about 88 thousand energy-intensive pieces of equipment for the production of cryptocurrency were transported to Kazakhstan from the Celestial Empire. According to the University of Cambridge, Kazakhstan currently ranks second after the United States in the list of countries attractive for mining.
To combat this phenomenon, taking into account accidents at three coal-fired power plants in northern Kazakhstan, the authorities initially decided to restrict farms from using more than 100 MW for two years. But then the Department of Energy removed this restriction for law-abiding miners.
To mitigate the consequences of the disruptions, the Kazakh power grid operator KEGOC has notified about electricity rationing for fifty state-registered miners. At the same time, officials, as an explanation of what is happening, point to the situation with an increase in the number of so-called "gray miners", which are persons without registration of activities, mining cryptocurrency bypassing the law. According to experts, these users are taking at least 1200 MW from the busy power system of Kazakhstan.
To improve the situation, from the beginning of next year, the authorities will begin to take an additional fee from bona fide miners in the amount of 1 tenge ($0.0023) per kWh. Prior to that, Kazakhstan is counting on the support of the Russian energy holding Inter RAO, whose help will come in handy after the onset of cold weather. The power shortage also affects the work of legal miners: for example, the Xive platform, which provides a place for mining equipment for customers, was recently forced to turn off about 2,500 installations.
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