Électricité du Laos (EDL), a state-owned electricity distribution company in Laos, has announced that it will suspend electricity supply to cryptocurrency mining operations in the country, citing difficulty in generating sufficient power amidst drought conditions.
According to the announcement, Laos had a shortage during the first half of 2023. Extreme heat increased the electricity demand and made it difficult for hydropower facilities to generate enough power.
Aside from this, the EDL stated that hydropower plants generate 95% of the country’s electricity and intend to supply electricity locally and export significant quantities to Thailand by 2024. As conditions deteriorate, the nation’s export capacity will also be impacted.
In an interview with the Laotian Times, an EDL employee stated that the inability of crypto mining projects to “pay their outstanding balances” is another cause for the suspension of supply.
The Laotian government approved the public-private pilot to investigate crypto mining and trading on September 11, 2021. The move is intended to capitalize on China’s assault on mining, which has led industrial-scale miners to seek alternative locations for operations. Six companies had been granted permission to conduct mining operations in Laos as part of the program.
In other news, the Sultanate of Oman on the Arabian Peninsula’s southeast coast has inaugurated a $370 million cryptocurrency mining facility. The center opened on August 22 in a special economic zone called the Salalah Free Zone. Exahertz will operate the facility alongside Dubai-based blockchain company Moonwalk Systems.
A Chinese official was sentenced to life in prison for operating a Bitcoin mining business while fraudulent. Chinese politician Xiao Yi was sentenced to prison on August 22 for abuse of power and corruption. Prosecutors claim that Yi concealed the mining operations by ordering departments to falsify reports and modify electricity consumption.
