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Iran says it will provide electricity to Afghanistan despite local shortage

Iran says it will provide electricity to Afghanistan despite local shortage
posted onNovember 14, 2021
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Iran will provide electricity to Afghanistan to address blackouts in western cities, Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.

The move comes as Iran has recently faced nationwide blackouts due to illegal cryptocurrency mining.

The power generation and supply company of Afghanistan will buy 100-megawatt electricity from Iran for Herat, Farah, and Nimroz provinces, which are facing shortages,” the news agency reported.

Afghanistan reportedly relies on foreign imports for 70 percent of its power.

Iran was among the first countries in the world to legalise the mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for Chinese companies in September 2018, but it requires miners to have a licence.

Later, authorities said in May that "illegal" miners are responsible for the local electricity shortage.

The state authorities said those miners who have no licence usually have access to subsidised electricity and consume between six and seven times more power than those with permits.