TL; DR Breakdown
- Regions to set new tariff because of crypto miners activities
- Activity is affecting the country’s power grid
- Regions are yet to adopt the new system
Russia has announced that regional electricity providers will be afforded more leeway to determine the tariffs levied on local users henceforth. With this initiative, crypto miners are set to receive higher electricity rates than other citizens who use electricity minimally. Over the last few years, crypto miners have taken to their garages and other parts of their homes to use subsidized electricity to carry out their activities.
Crypto miners activities are affecting Russia’s power grid
According to the statement, the new update will allow the electricity providers to cut electricity according to users’ different rates. This new update is coming off the back of recent clamor by citizens for electricity providers to set the amount of electricity used at a specific time. Locals were also wary of the activities of crypto miners on the electricity and how far it could go to affect the country’s power grid.
According to the update, private individuals who intend to buy more than the usual household threshold will have to pay more than people who use electricity within the threshold. Although most of the regions have not started to adopt this new regulation, Crimea has announced to residents that they can get cheap electricity at a specified rate of 150 kWh every month.
Regions are yet to adopt the new system
According to the ministry of energy and power, this initiative was birthed in a bid to help them keep tabs on the excessive usage of electricity across regions in the country. The ministry also does not want people who do not use excessive energy to bear the brunt of the increase in electricity tariffs. Usually, every state in Russia is in charge of regulating its electricity, allowing households to use a minimal amount predetermined by the body.
However, power usage determines how much a household or an investment would pay for consumption. For instance, companies were leveled with a charge of $3.3 billion for cross-subsidization financing across the country. With this update, most regions will follow the footsteps of Crimea and introduce the new levy, posing a significant stumbling block to crypto miners. For instance, regions like the Irkutsk Oblast companies about the activities of crypto miners and the effects on power. In recent news, a local energy provider around the region has served 80 households with sanctions due to the abundance of crypto miners and mining activities in the area.
