Ethiopia cuts Bitcoin miners’ power by 77% amid hydropower shortage: Report

Ethiopia has reportedly reduced electricity delivered to Bitcoin miners to 23% of contracted levels as lower water inflows strain the country’s hydroelectric reservoirs.

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that El Niño intensified dry conditions in the east African country, reducing water inflows into its reservoirs by 20%. Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) CEO Ashebir Balcha said the company cut power to miners to prioritize households and manufacturers.

Balcha said EEP initially reduced deliveries to 75% of contracted levels, easing to 50% and then 23%. The company will reassess conditions in October and could impose further reductions or even restrict electricity exports to neighboring countries, according to the report.

Bitcoin miners reportedly accounted for 35% of EEP’s revenue last fiscal year and consume almost one-third of Ethiopia’s electricity output. The country’s inexpensive hydropower has attracted international miners, including Phoenix Group, which expanded its Ethiopian mining capacity to 132 megawatts in April 2025. 

Bitcoin mining power growth faces pressure from halvings and AI

Separately, economist and The Bitcoin Standard author Saifedean Ammous said in a Tuesday X post that global Bitcoin mining electricity consumption and capital expenditure may have peaked in 2024 to 2025.