The department explained that the electricity used for the extraction of cryptocurrencies does not belong to household needs
The electricity allocated for cryptocurrency mining cannot be paid at a preferential rate, since it does not belong to household needs, according to the Ministry of Energy, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes.
The department explained that the legislation clearly divides the consumption of electricity by citizens for their own household needs and in order to carry out entrepreneurial activities. The business tariff can be applied not only to large industrial sites, but also to individuals who are engaged in the extraction of cryptocurrencies, the ministry added.
On November 29, the governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev, said that he was ready to allocate platforms for industrial mining of cryptocurrencies in the region. Kobzev also recalled his initiative to equate mining with entrepreneurial activity. The official sent the corresponding letter to the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak in mid-October. Kobzev believes that it is necessary to set special electricity tariffs for miners.
In November, the Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin instructed to create a working group that will discuss the issue of legalizing cryptocurrency mining in Russia. The speaker of the State Duma gave such an order in response to the proposal of the first deputy chairman of the committee for security and anti-corruption, Andrei Lugovoi, to legalize the extraction of digital assets.