Page 55 - IRANRptAug21

Iran bans crypto mining for four months as power cuts rile households ahead of election
Crypto mining ‘delivering Iran over $1bn in annual revenue’
Iran reduces gas flows to Iraq
it added.
Currently, official information shows 304 cities in Iran are suffering from water shortages, with water consumption measured at 10% to 30% above water production.
CEO of the Water and Sewerage Company of Iran, Hamid Reza Janbaz, told a press conference that 702 villages in Khuzestan province “will soon have tap water” and should not have to “worry about water by autumn”.
“Out of 702 villages that have had water supply problems, about 500 villages will have their problems solved by the end of the year and soon the water supply to all these localities will be stable,” he added.
Iran has forbidden the energy-intensive mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for nearly four months, President Hassan Rouhani announced on May 26, with the country enduring major power blackouts in many cities.
"The ban on the mining of cryptocurrencies is effective immediately until September 22 ... Some 85% of the current mining in Iran is unlicensed," Rouhani said in a televised speech at a cabinet meeting.
The blackouts are stirring much resentment among Iranians, with the mid-June presidential election approaching. Officials have blamed the power cuts on cryptocurrency mining, drought that is undermining hydroelectricity production and surging electricity demand in summer.
According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, around 4.5% of all Bitcoin mining takes place in Iran, with the activity enabling the Islamic Republic to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from cryptocurrencies that can be used to reduce the impact of US sanctions on trade.
Cryptocurrencies are created through a process known as mining in which powerful, energy-thirsty computers compete with each other to solve complex mathematical problems.
The electricity being used for crypto mining in Iran would require the equivalent of around 10mn barrels of crude oil each year to generate, equivalent to around 4% of total Iranian oil exports in 2020, according to the study.
Iran, delivering cheap power, has permitted a certain level of crypto mining in recent years. This has attracted crypto mining investors from countries including China, while unapproved operators have proliferated. All produced Bitcoins in Iran must be sold to the central bank. Cryptocurrencies mined in the country can legally be used to pay for imports of authorised goods.
Iran has reduced gas flows to power stations in southern and central Iraq as the Islamic Republic struggles with domestic power and water crises. A statement from Iraq’s Ministry of Energy (MoE) said that gas supplies had fallen by 19mn cubic metres per day.
“The rates of Iranian gas being supplied to the production stations in the central regions and Baghdad have been reduced from 34mn cubic metres to 20mn cubic metres per day,” it said, adding that supplies to southern regions had dropped from 17 mcm to 12 mcm per day.
The MoE noted that the country has lost around 1,000 MW of electricity output as a result.
Iraq is understood to be generating around 19,000-21,000 MW, far short of its required level of 30,000 MW. In addition to the cross-border gas flows, Iraq imports around 1,200 MW of electricity from Iran.
Exacerbating the situation, transmission lines in the Iraqi governorates of Diyala, Kirkuk and Salah ad Din have been targeted by attacks understood to have been carried out by Daesh militants.
55 IRAN Country Report August 2021 www.intellinews.com