Residents of the Irkutsk region are asked to introduce differentiated tariffs for miners

Residents of the Irkutsk region sent an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to influence the resolution of the negative situation in the region’s electricity industry.

According to the Lenta.ru news outlet, the head of state received an appeal from residents of the Irkutsk region, which refers to the critical situation and power outages caused by the actions of illegal mining companies.

“For the Irkutsk region, emergency power outages are not uncommon lately, which causes concern on the part of the inhabitants of the region. Such shutdowns are associated with the unpredictable activity of illegal miners, which create an enormous load on the power grid. The reason why the Irkutsk region has become a center of attraction not only for Russian, but also for Chinese miners is the low cost of electricity for housing and communal services, ”the appeal says.

The document, which has been signed by more than 2,000 people, asks for the urgent introduction of differentiated tariffs and measures to prevent the activities of illegal miners. The signatories refer to Decree No. 2053 dated November 14, 2022, which allows state bodies to take appropriate measures and provide for the introduction of special tariffs, according to the volume of actual electricity consumption.

Earlier, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov told reporters about the need to build and introduce additional capacities, since demand for electricity from miners increased in southeastern Siberia, especially Khakassia and the Irkutsk region.

For his part, Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Snikkars said that Russian power engineers have learned how to effectively identify illegal miners by increasing energy consumption and changing the load profile at substations.