The Iran Project
: An energy expert says the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass internet blocks has increased Iran’s electricity consumption by 1 gigawatt (GW).
Friday 27 December 2024 - 23:00
Story Code : 433353
Source : Press TV
VPNs responsible for 1 GW of Iran’s electricity use: Expert
Industry estimates show that 1 GW of electricity is enough to power a city of 1 million people. That comes as Iran has been facing a major shortage of electricity in recent weeks because of low fuel supplies at power plants that have been caused by rising demand for heating in the country.
Emam’s comments came a day after Iran’s government said it had secured a decision to lift bans on access to two major internet platforms for which people were forced to use VPNs.
“According to the estimates (and) given the size of mobile users and the VPNs existing in the country, the consumption of electricity increases by as much as generation in a 1-GW power plant,” he said.
The expert added that the shortage of fuel supplies at power plants has caused Iran to face as much as 20 GW of shortage in its electricity supplies.
That comes as Iran has an electricity generation capacity of nearly 100 GW of which nearly 70 GW can become operational if power plants have access to enough feedstock.
Emam said that another major challenge facing Iran’s electricity sector is crypto-mining which he said is responsible for a major part of the country's power consumption.
He said mining crypto-currencies is reportedly consuming nearly 10 GW of power supplies in Iran which is equal to the current power consumption in the capital Tehran.
Reporter : Editorial of The Iran Project
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