A representative of the Rosseti company stated that the theft of electricity in Russia by "gray" miners has reached the amount of 10 billion rubles per year, and this amount is not final. In the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District alone, for 2024, the official damage to Rosseti amounted to 424 million rubles.
Sergey Sasim, Director of the Center for Research in Electric Power Engineering at the Institute for Economics and Regulation of Infrastructure Industries at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, noted that cryptocurrency mining carried out in violation of the rules leads to a number of negative consequences.
He pointed out that energy companies' incomes are falling, the load on regional energy systems is growing, power grids are wearing out, fires are occurring, and property is being damaged. The authorities are forced to spend additional funds from the budget to eliminate the consequences of the work of "gray miners".
Rosseti has notified that in all established cases of theft of electricity for power supply to mining farms, relevant materials are sent to territorial law enforcement agencies, and administrative and criminal cases are initiated.
However, despite the measures taken, it has not yet been possible to completely eliminate the activities of “gray miners”, and additional measures are needed to minimize losses from their work, the holding emphasized.
