Laos Stops Power Supply to Crypto Miners Amid Challenges

Laos’s state-owned electricity distribution firm, Électricité du Laos (EDL), has stated that it will stop supplying crypto mining enterprises in the country with electricity.

The company cited a variety of reasons for this decision, including the fact that it is difficult to produce sufficient amounts of power in the face of drought conditions.

Official announcement of suspension of electricity supply to crypto mining projects. Source: Électricité du Laos

Aside from this, the Electricity Development Limited (EDL) stated that hydropower facilities contribute 95% of the country’s power and that it plans to deliver electricity locally and export substantial volumes to Thailand in the year 2024.

As the conditions become more severe, the country’s capacity to export goods will also be impacted.

An employee of EDL stated, in an interview with a local media site called the Laotian Times, that one of the reasons for the suspension of supply for cryptocurrency mining projects is that the projects are unable to “pay their outstanding balances.

The public-private pilot project to investigate cryptocurrency mining and trading was given the go-ahead by the government of Laos on September 11, 2021.

The move is an attempt to capitalize on China’s crackdown on mining, which has caused industrial-scale miners to look for other venues for operations in which to do their business.

Within the framework of the initiative, six different businesses had been granted permission to carry out mining operations in Laos at the time.