VLADIVOSTOK, September 6. /TASS/. The Russian mining industry currently consumes over 2.5 GW of electric power, with a portion of them consumed by "gray" miners, CEO of the Russian largest operator of mining centers Bitriver Igor Runets told TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

"Gray miners make connections to public utility networks using tariffs for households, which are not designed for the consumption profile characteristic for mining. Furthermore, such gray mining is often above the actual consumption volume over the one declared for service connection," the chief executive said. Such factors eventually lead to "emergency, power supply disruptions, and non-payments," he noted.

Regulation of the mining sector effective since August 2024 will make it possible to reduce imbalances in the energy system and reduce energy deficit in certain regions occurred due to uncontrollable gray mining growth, Runets added.