Iranian miners face rising electricity prices

The National Iranian Gas Company of the Ministry of Petroleum Industry of Iran informed the miners about the increase in natural gas tariffs.

The increase is retroactive and applies to the entire fiscal year that began in March 2022. This means that the bills for the past six months will be adjusted according to the new rates.

As a result of the decision made by the ministry, a cubic meter of fuel will now cost 53,368 rials (about $1.25), almost double the 29,440 rials ($0.7) previously paid by miners. In addition, cryptocurrency miners are required to pay a value-added tax (VAT) of 9%.

Chairman of the Iranian Blockchain Association Abbas Ashtiani (Abbas Ashtiani) called the decision of officials a violation of the agreement between mining companies and energy suppliers. He is convinced that the increase should not have been related to gas consumption in the first half of the financial year.

The authorities’ decision will hit a third of the country’s mining companies that use electricity generated from natural gas. As a result, many licensed enterprises will suffer heavy losses. The local crypto community believes that after the failure of the Internet and legal procedures, the actions of officials will force even more mining companies to go underground.

The Iranian authorities have been accusing miners of a shortage of electricity in the country for several years. Over the past two years, companies have been forced to stop mining cryptocurrencies several times. Now licensed legal entities pay for electricity at export prices, and the gas price is set at about 70% of the average export price.

Recently, the Iranian authorities have resumed issuing licenses to mining companies, in accordance with the new regulatory framework.