Irkutskenergosbyt, the local power distributor in Irkutsk Oblast, has filed 137 lawsuits against customers who are utilising subsidised electricity to mint digital currencies in underground and garage mining facilities.
The utility intends to recoup 63 million Russian rubles (about $790,000) in compensation by taking the cases to court, according to Tass, citing its director, Andrey Kharitonov. These home miners, according to the business, are involved in entrepreneurial operations while paying for their electricity at population rates, which are four times lower than commercial prices. The owners of subterranean crypto farms are also putting more strain on the system in residential areas, causing outages and breakdowns. Over 1,200 examples of ‘grey’ mining were found in 2021 alone, according to Kharitonov. Nineteen of the 137 lawsuits were settled for a total of 21 million rubles. He explained that all other claims are still being considered, and that no cases have been lost thus far.
Cryptocurrency mining, according to the CEO, considerably increases the amount of electrical energy consumed in the region.
While consumers of Irkutskenergosbyt used roughly 7 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2020, the total was closer to 8 billion kWh in 2021. The number of private dwellings and apartment buildings, on the other hand, has stayed virtually stable.
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