Russia has tightened electricity-grid access for cryptocurrency mining facilities, requiring new connections to use an interruptible power-supply category.

Government Resolution No. 1300, dated October 6, took effect on October 9. The changes cover equipment used for digital currency mining, including participation in mining pools, and mining infrastructure operators.

Under Category IV reliability, consumers accept interruptions without limits on their frequency or duration. The category was introduced in February 2026 for users whose operations can tolerate power cuts. Its supply conditions do not set a guaranteed restoration deadline.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said the measure was intended to prevent mining demand from creating electricity and capacity shortages for other consumers, according to Russian news agency PRIME. It said the Category IV framework could allow connections even in power-deficit regions, with customers accepting the associated interruption risks.

The framework also carries technical conditions. These include a maximum load exceeding 5MW at the connection point, counting equipment already connected there, and a connection at 6kV or higher to switchgear at a grid facility rated 110kV or above.

Under the transition rules, applications that fail the relevant technical conditions, or concern territories where a ban also covers Category IV mining, are cancelled. Connection fees are settled against costs already incurred by the grid company, so cancellation or withdrawal does not necessarily result in a full refund.

Where regional restrictions exempt Category IV mining, the amendments give those miners priority for electricity cuts over other Category IV consumers during specified maintenance and emergency restrictions. Grid companies must also include the full maximum load of Category IV connections in emergency-curtailment schedules.

The changes also remove the requirement for a separate external power-supply scheme for connections made permanently under Category IV. The system operator retains responsibility for determining the maximum capacity that can be connected and can refuse technical approval where the grid conditions cannot accommodate it.

The measures follow earlier regional restrictions on mining demand. DCD reported in September that Russia had prohibited mining in Moscow, the surrounding region, and parts of Kursk through the end of 2032, citing pressure on electricity supplies.

Forbes Russia – using data from TechExpo and the Russian Federal Property Management Agency (PKR) – reports that some 38 data center construction projects in the country have been paused in the last three years, totaling some 128.6 billion ($2.2bn) rubles in value.

A total of 128 data center projects, representing around one trillion rubles ($13.28bn), have been announced in that time, suggesting that nearly a third of projects have stalled. This is despite Russia – and Moscow specifically – having very little vacant data center capacity available to customers.