Ethiopia Cuts Power to Bitcoin Miners Amid Hydropower Shortage
Ethiopia's hydropower shortage has forced the country to cut power deliveries to Bitcoin miners by 77%. According to Bloomberg, lower water inflows due to El Niño intensified dry conditions have reduced reservoirs by 20%. Ethiopian Electric Power CEO Ashebir Balcha said they initially reduced power to 75% of contracted levels, then eased it to 50%, and now deliver only 23%.
The reduction is a major hit for miners, who accounted for 35% of EEP's revenue last fiscal year. They consume nearly one-third of Ethiopia's electricity output, and the country's inexpensive hydropower has attracted international miners like Phoenix Group, which expanded its Ethiopian mining capacity to 132 megawatts in April 2025.
Economist Saifedean Ammous noted that global Bitcoin mining electricity consumption and capital expenditure may have peaked in 2024-2025. He said that for the dollar value of newly mined coins to grow, Bitcoin's price would need to rise more than 18.92% annually, which is unlikely given its current decline.