Bitcoin miners in Iran have been warned that they face detection and power cuts, following a rise in the amount of power used in the country, according to Iranian news outlet Iran Front Page. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the spokesperson for Tavanir, an Iranian state-run power supply and distribution company, attributed the country’s 7 percent rise last month compared to the same period last year to an increase in Bitcoin mining, warning that those responsible that the practice is illegal and that perpetrators would see their services disrupted.
Crypto Mining Uses the Same Electricity as 24 Houses
According to Tavanir, a single ASIC miner consumes the same amount of electricity as 24 houses, which is why authorities are planning a separate tariff for cryptocurrency miners which has yet to be introduced. Electricity in Iran so heavily subsidized (nearly $1 billion per year) that many Iranian residents can operate modern air conditioners, a subsidy that has naturally led people to using cryptocurrency mining equipment in an attempt to earn money cheaply. As a result, the number of digital currency miners using residential power has been growing in recent years, which the government wants to put a stop to.
Crypto Miners Should Have Subsidy Stripped
In a report released earlier this month, Iranian economic daily the Financial Tribune quoted the deputy energy minister of Iran as saying that electricity bills for crypto miners should be calculated in alignment with real prices, in essence stripping away the subsidy. Homayoun Haeri insisted that electricity bills for such activities should be priced according to the same rates as those in place for power exports.
Residences using disproportionate amounts of electricity will be warned about their usage levels, before seeing their power temporarily cut off if there isn’t a reduction in use. Unfortunately for crypto miners, detection of cryptocurrency mining is far easier to perform than detecting its actual use as a currency.
