New generation capacity might be needed to meet the electrical needs of cryptocurrency miners. Although Shulginov did not provide specific plans, he did mention that the governments of these regions are thinking about expanding the energy network used by mining companies and building more power plants. In the meantime, as a result of the local government abandoning plans to impose higher charges on Russians who mine domestically, there has been a surge in domestic electricity demand.
In Russia, a nation with abundant inexpensive energy resources and a beautiful climate, cryptocurrency mining has gained appeal as an effective economic activity and a secondary source of income for many regular cryptocurrency miners in their basements and garages. Before the effects of markets and sanctions this year, research from October found that bitcoin mining earnings in Russia surged 18 times in four years.
In places like Irkutsk, Russia's mining capital and home to some of the lowest electricity prices in the nation, at-home mining has been cited as the cause of power interruptions and blackouts. With the exception of the Kemerovo region, local authorities rejected a proposal to implement differential pricing, which would have increased energy costs for amateur bitcoin miners in an effort to reduce consumption.
Pavel Snikkars, the deputy energy minister, said that by 2022, the industry's share of Russia's total energy use may double. A law to regulate cryptocurrency mining was supported by his department and the Bank of Russia, but parliament postponed passage until 2023.