Ethiopia cuts Bitcoin miners’ power by 77% amid hydropower shortage: Report
Bitcoin miners generated 35% of the state-owned power producer’s revenue last year, but declining reservoir inflows led the utility to prioritize households and manufacturers.
Ethiopian state-owned power producer, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), has reduced electricity deliveries to Bitcoin miners by 77%, Bloomberg reported. Last year, miners generated 35% of the company's revenue. The reduction comes amid a hydropower shortage, as declining reservoir inflows strain Ethiopia's hydroelectric reservoirs.
The utility prioritized households and manufacturers instead, delivering only 23% of contracted power levels to miners. Initial cuts were 75%, then 50%, and finally 23%. EEP CEO Ashebir Balcha said further reductions or export restrictions to neighboring countries may be considered. Bitcoin miners consume almost one-third of the country's electricity output.
Ethiopian hydropower has attracted international miners, like Phoenix Group, which expanded its mining capacity to 132 megawatts in April 2025. Economist Saifedean Ammous warned that Bitcoin mining electricity consumption and capital expenditure may have peaked in 2024-2025, with the price needing to rise over 18.92% annually to sustain mining economics.
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