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Tim Alper
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Tim Alper
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The Siberian power firm Irkutsk Energosbyt says it wants to prosecute around 400 “illegal” crypto miners.
And the provider says that illegal miners in the oblast have already “stolen $6.3 million worth of power from the grid.”
Siberian Power Firm: Miners Operate Rigs on Balconies and Garages
Per the Russian media outlet RBC, Irkutsk Energosbyt has filed 2,113 lawsuits against private individuals for the “illegal use of electricity for crypto mining” in the past five years.
The power firm is hunting so-called “gray” miners, who “install mining equipment in places not intended for this purpose.”
The company said that most of these individuals set up their rigs “in garages, private houses, on apartment balconies, and in garden plots.”
Irkutsk Energosbyt called crypto mining rigs “powerful devices” that “increase the load on household power grids.”
And this, they claim, can “lead to accidents” on power lines across the Siberian oblast.
“As of January 1, 2025, courts have ruled in favor of energy companies in 1,348 cases. [We are preparing] more than 400 additional lawsuits. And 104 [miners] have already chosen to pay energy providers in out-of-court settlements. We intend to continue our legal campaign.”
Andrey Kharitonov, Director, Irkutsk Energosbyt
Defendants Deny Wrongdoing
The media outlet reported that defendants had used a wide range of excuses in court to “justify” their “high energy consumption,” denying they run crypto mining rigs.
In one case, RBC wrote, a defendant “said that he was running 10 heat guns in a 20sqm room because “he simply liked hot temperatures.”
Another defendant reportedly told a court that “he uses a boiler around the clock” to “feed an artificial reservoir with distilled water.”
The Irkutsk region is popular with miners due to its famously low electricity prices and cold winters.
In recent years, it has become the de facto capital of Russia’s fast-growing Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry.
Cryptonews.com has also seen evidence suggesting that many home-based miners in Siberia and elsewhere in Russia prefer mining Ethereum (ETH).
But Irkutsk has since become a victim of its own popularity, with the region and neighboring areas complaining of crypto mining-related power shortages.
However, power firms say that gray miners use “preferential rate electricity” or subsidized energy to power their rigs.
Uphill Battle?
Lawmakers and power providers have faced an uphill battle as they bid to stop miners from using subsidized power intended for residential areas to mine coins.
In December, members of the State Duma proposed a bill that would strip crypto miners of their electricity benefits.
Crypto mining is illegal in many parts of Russia – including southern Irkutsk – during the winter months.
However, in other parts of the country, private individuals are free to mine coins at home – even using subsidized power – if they do not use more than 6,000 kWh per month.
Sergey Bezdelov, the head of the Industrial Mining Association, said that “in FY2024 Q4,” demand for industrial mining equipment and services rose sharply in Russia.
Bezdelov said sales have “increased threefold compared to the same period in FY2023.”
