Abkhazia cuts off power to 15 crypto mining facilities

The Republican unitary enterprise Chernomorenergo, a state-owned power company of Abkhazia, has announced that the government has cut power to some cryptocurrency mining farms due to concerns over electricity consumption, CoinTelegraph reported.

Chernomorenergo made the announcement in a Facebook post on December 31. It said (via online translation):

“A total of 15 facilities were disconnected with a total capacity of 8950 kW / h. This is equivalent to the consumption of 1,800 households or equal to the consumption of the Sukhumi district. I would like to note that during the events the owners of these objects showed understanding and participation.”

According to the blog post, the cuts have been made “on temporary measures to limit the consumption of electricity by certain categories of subscribers.”

Electricity consumption by crypto mining farms has become a crucial area of concern for governments around the world. In November 2018, the Norwegian government revealed its plans to end a power subsidy enjoyed by bitcoin miners.

Last year, the Chelan County Public Utility District (PUB) of the state of Washington proposed new electricity rate structure for cryptocurrency miners. According to an official announcement dated December 03, 2018, Chelan PUD commissioners have approved a new rate for cryptocurrency, blockchain and similar operations effective April 1, 2019. The District will accept new cryptocurrency service applications on that date.

Lindsey Mohns, Customer Utilities business adviser, said the rate will allow the District to serve cryptocurrency operations while protecting other customers from the uncertainty and volatility of the cryptocurrency industry.