The Venezuelan government issued an emergency bulletin stating that electricity demand now stands at 15,579 megawatts (the highest level in 9 years).
According to Official government notificationpolicymakers have activated a supervisory plan to detect them Illegal crypto mining and Punish the perpetrators severely.
Venezuela’s power grid was already experiencing problems long before Bitcoin existed
Latest OPEC Annual statistical review It states that Venezuela possesses approximately one-fifth of the world’s crude oil reserves (about 303 billion barrels). The country has it too Gori DamIt is a huge hydroelectric dam and the second largest hydroelectric power station in the world, which once supplied the country with 80% of its energy.
according to Research conducted by the Borgen ProjectThe government was highly accused Low electricity pricesThis means that Venezuelans will only pay about 20% of the actual cost of power generation.
As a result, state-owned energy company Corpuelec struggled to properly maintain the grid with limited resources or even invest in new infrastructure, so the transmission lines eventually collapsed.
Above all, the mass migration that was sent More than 7 million Venezuelans abroad Since 2015 it has included skilled engineers who managed everything within the factory. This means that the skills gap has grown significantly.
As expected, the Gori Dam failed, and on March 7, 2019, the entire country was left in darkness. Center for Strategic and International Studies It published a report on the incident And its effects, as most cities said that there was a power outage for more than 90 hours, which threatened the lives of many, especially critically ill patients in hospitals.
At the time, the Maduro regime blamed the power outages on opposition leaders and the United States, accusing them of “using cyber and electromagnetic attacks.” but Investigation reports He said otherwise, blaming years of neglect, corruption and mismanagement.
Miners went to Venezuela specifically because electricity was very cheap
Because Venezuela shored up its grid and offered near-zero electricity rates, the country became a safe haven for Bitcoin mining. BTC computers run 24/7 and use huge amounts of electricity, so cheap power can only mean bigger profits for miners.
Ordinary citizens also turned to mining because it allowed them to earn dollars in a country where the local currency had become almost worthless due to hyperinflation. In reality, A mining rig operating in Venezuela can achieve more A month of what most workers earned in a year of hard labor.
So the crackdowns have been going on for years, and do not represent a new announcement. For example, regulatory agencies launched an anti-corruption campaign and confiscated about 2,000 mining machines in Maracay, forcing the Ministry of Electric Power to crack down on corruption. disconnect All crypto mining farms From National Grid in May 2024.
“The goal is to disconnect all cryptocurrency mining farms in the country from the National Electric System (SEN), avoiding a significant impact on demand, allowing us to continue providing an efficient and reliable service to all Venezuelans,” the Ministry of People’s Energy for Education (MPPPE) said on its Instagram account.
Carabobo state governor Rafael Lacava even asked citizens to report anyone mining cryptocurrencies, saying: “If you see a house that you know is mining cryptocurrencies, ask that person to stop the farm, or just report it. Because they are directly deducting power from the grid to make some money. We will be left without electric service if they don’t stop.”
The government says the ban is necessary, but the numbers tell a more complex story
According to the official statement of the Venezuelan government, demand for electricity reached 15,579 megawatts, due to the heat wave and “economic growth that maintains its momentum.”
The government also said it was working on a supervision plan and deploying technical teams to stabilize the network, and negatively emphasized the ban on digital mining.
“The absolute ban on digital mining on national territory is upheld. Those who use this activity illegally will be punished in accordance with the law.” — Venezuelan government statement, May 7, 2026
Not surprisingly, the government spent much of the statement blaming international sanctions for the failure of the network and announcing a long-term plan that plans to introduce the private, industrial, academic and scientific sectors to it. The cryptocurrency mining ban came to a close, almost as an afterthought, suggesting that it was not the main story.
Penalties, unpaid invoices, and missing engineers are the real problems
according to Eva Daily reports Regarding the situation with Venezuela’s electricity grid, international equipment suppliers are demanding that the government provide advanced payment guarantees for grid repair, but this may not be possible. Mismanagement of funds, sanctions, the collapse of oil revenues, and the cost of creating an authoritarian political structure have devastated the country’s finances, severely limiting the government’s capacity.
Now, because the government is unable to make any payments, the network continues to deteriorate as suppliers refuse to extend credit to purchase spare parts. according to Wikipedia’s comprehensive calculation of power outages in Venezuela in 2024The Maduro administration has been silent about the situation regarding the electrical system for nearly 14 years.
The engineering talent that kept the Gori Dam and the wider grid system under control left the country as part of the great exodus, and since you can’t really run a complex hydropower and transportation system without them, banning cryptocurrency miners won’t help much.
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