Economy

Ethiopia Cuts Power to Bitcoin Miners by 75% Amid Drought

AI SUMMARY

Ethiopia has cut power supplies to Bitcoin-mining companies by 75% due to water shortages caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Ethiopia has reduced electricity supplies to energy-intensive Bitcoin-mining facilities by 75%.
The power cuts are driven by worsening water shortages caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
El Niño has intensified the dry season, reducing water inflows into hydroelectric reservoirs by about 20%.
Bitcoin-mining companies account for 35% of Ethiopian Electric Power Corp’s revenue and consume nearly a third of the country's 9,730 megawatts of total electricity production.
Mining a single Bitcoin in Ethiopia requires an estimated 6.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, which equals the annual consumption of roughly 14,950 average Ethiopian households.
Electricity costs about 3.2 cents per kilowatt-hour in Ethiopia, making it attractive to global miners.
About half of Ethiopia's population still lacks access to electricity.
Ethiopian Electric Power has power-purchase agreements with 39 Bitcoin-mining companies, with 31 currently operational.
The utility will reassess the water levels and power situation by October, and could further restrict supply to miners or limit electricity exports to neighboring countries.