Kosovo bans crypto mining amidst power shortage

Kosovo’s Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli announced on Wednesday, January 5 that they will ban crypto mining to save on energy as reported by local news site Gazeta Express. In her statement to the press, she explained that the decision was made because of the recommendation of the Technical Committee on Emergency Measures for Energy Supply of the country.

Since Kosovo is currently suffering power shortages because of the winter season, Minister Rizvanolli adhered to the advice of the Technical Committee. It’s a newly established group that is tasked to come up with emergency measures for the energy supply in the country. According to the Minister’s announcement found in the Gazeta Express, the law enforcement agencies of Kosovo will see to it that people stop producing cryptocurrencies. They will also identify the different locations in the country where crypto mining is prevalent.

‘These actions are aimed at addressing potential unexpected or long term lack of electricity production capacities, capacities of transmission or distribution of energy in order to overcome the energy crisis without further burdening the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo’, stated Minister Rizvanolli.

Kosovo-based energy distribution firm KEDS said that power outages in the country are the result of the low local production capacity and high energy import costs, according to a report by global news provider Reuters. On another hand, Bitcoin mining heavily consumes energy up to 1,173 Kilowatt Hours (kWh), according to the data found by the price comparison site MoneySuperMarket.com. It’s noted to be eight times more energy than social network Facebook and search engine Google put together.

Apart from the Republic of Kosovo, some countries all over the world also expressed their concerns about mining-related power outages. One of those is Iran which stopped crypto mining in their nation because of winter. 

Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of Iran Grid Management Company Tavanir, announced through local television, The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, on December 27, 2021, that they will stop authorizing crypto mining centres momentarily. According to Cointelegraph, he discussed that it was a necessary measure to reduce the liquid fuel consumption in power plants because of the low temperatures.

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