Ethiopia Cuts Electricity Supply to Bitcoin Miners Amid Drought

ETHIOPIA HAS REDUCED THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY TO BITCOIN MINING COMPANIES, citing a decline in water inflows to its dams. The state-owned operator, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), is now providing mining companies with only about 23% of the electricity stipulated in their contracts.

The reduction affects companies that have become one of EEP's main clients, accounting for nearly one-third of electricity consumed and a significant portion of revenue. Last year, these companies paid around 50.37 billion birrs to EEP, according to estimates by Ethiopian Business Review.

EEP has signed power purchase agreements with 39 bitcoin mining companies, including 31 that are already operational. The company had previously indicated that data mining activities were an important source of foreign currency, even though cryptocurrency trading is banned in the country.