The Governor of the Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev proposed to recognize mining as a business of cryptocurrencies – the head of the region is ready to provide them with separate sites for industrial activity, Interfax writes.
“As you know, I turned to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation [Alexander Novak] and consider [mining] as an entrepreneurial activity … The government has its own opinion on this matter, it looked at it, supported us, “Kobzev said. Recognition of mining as a business will oblige miners to pay for electricity at higher rates.
In October, the governor complained to the authorities about the “underground” miners. Kobzev announced an “avalanche-like increase in energy consumption” in the region, the level of which has already increased tenfold compared to 2019. The head of the region expressed concern that the state of the networks does not allow such an increase in load. According to him, the mining of cryptocurrencies has already led to power outages in the suburbs, where mining farms are mainly concentrated.
The situation has become more serious with the approach of the winter heating season, since most of the region's population heats houses with electricity. Kobzev believes that miners should negotiate with the network company to connect their devices via a dedicated line in order to reduce the load on the distribution networks of settlements. “We are ready to provide miners with platforms for industrial mining. For example, in Ust-Ilimsk. But this must be done in a civilized way, so that there are separate lines, without taking into account the networks of settlements, “the governor said.
The population of the Irkutsk region pays for electricity at the lowest tariffs in Russia. From July 1, 2021, for the urban population, a tariff for electric energy of 1.23 rubles per kilowatt-hour has been established, and in rural areas the tariff is even lower – 0.861 kopecks per kilowatt-hour. That is why miners are so attracted to this region.
In October, Russia took the third place in the world in terms of the volume of bitcoin mining. From September 2019 to August 2021, the country's share almost doubled – from 5.9 percent to 11.2 percent. Since October 2020, the average monthly total computing power of connected equipment has grown from 5.2 to 13.6 Eh/s.