Iran cuts off power to miners to save energy for winter

Iran is halting the activities of block reward miners in the country to save power during the winter season. The country is considered to be a major player in the mining sector and has rationed power to the miners in the past when demand soared.

According to local reports, the Iran Grid Management Company (Tavanir) is concerned about the surge in power use during winter. With this, it’s taking some measures to ensure there are no blackouts. Block reward miners, who are seen as a non-critical sector of the economy, are among those who will be denied power in the coming months.

“The Energy Ministry has been implementing measures since last month to reduce the use of liquid fuels in power plants, including cutting licensed crypto farms’ power supply, turning off lampposts in less risky areas and stringent supervision of consumption,” Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the chairman and managing director of Tavanir, stated.

Mostafa called on all Iranians to be mindful of their energy consumption as the winter season sets in. The country directs most of its power during winter to heat its households, with some reports claiming that as much as 70% of Iran’s power goes to this. Mostafa believes that if Iranians take heed of the recommended measures, they could save as much as 40% of their power during winter.

The measure isn’t new to Iranian miners. In May this year, President Hassan Rouhani announced a ban on all licensed mining activities when the country was experiencing frequent blackouts. As CoinGeek reported, the president announced that the ban would be in place at least until September. True to his word, Tavanir lifted the ban in September.

While licensed miners can be regulated in terms of energy consumption, Iran’s biggest problem lies with illegal miners. Before the May crackdown, the government claimed that illegal miners made up to 85% of the mining activities in the country. For a country that contributes to over 4.5% of the global digital currency activity, this is a significant challenge for the government.

Watch: CoinGeek New York presentation, A Study of Bitcoin & Blockchain Energy Consumption