Ethiopia Cuts Power to Bitcoin Miners Amid Hydroelectric Crunch
Ethiopia has reduced electricity supplied to Bitcoin mining companies by about 23% of contracted levels, citing strained hydroelectric power due to El Niño-related dry conditions. The utility, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), initially cut deliveries to miners to 75%, then to 50%, before reducing them further to the current level.
The move highlights the tension between Ethiopia's Bitcoin-mining strategy and its reliance on renewable energy. While data-mining companies generated about 50.37 billion birr for EEP in the last financial year, making them the utility's largest revenue-generating customer category, the utility has chosen to prioritize public and domestic industrial supply over data mining.
EEP Chief Executive Ashebir Balcha explained the decision by saying 'The people come first.' The current squeeze exposes the vulnerability of Ethiopia's model, where cheap renewable electricity is only an advantage when the underlying resource is available. EEP plans to reassess the electricity situation in October 2026.