Bitcoin (BTC) miners in the Chinese province of Sichuan are reportedly under pressurelocal authorities to scale down their operations due to electricity shortages.

On Dec. 29, the Asia Times reported that during the dry season, which extends from October through April, the electricity supply drops drastically in Southwest China, which is why local authorities are tightening the screws on mining companies to scale down their operations.

Bitcoin farms tolerated during wet seasons only

Bitcoin mining companies are officially prohibited but are tolerated in the Sichuan province during the wet seasons when hydropower stations generate more electricity than is required, utilizing the excess energy thanks to East Asia’s plum rain.

However, during the dry season, the local authorities attempt to assure sufficient power supply for residents and local businesses and therefore redirect their focus on the regional Bitcoin farms, who use excessive amounts of electricity to run their mining rigs.

Crackdown on Bitcoin mining

The Chinese authorities have not only been cracking down on BTC mining farms. They have also been going after power plants. Two power plants have received fines of around $140,000 in December for providing electricity to Bitcoin farms without obtaining a power supply license.

China, whose BTC miners are currently responsible for as much as 66% of global hash rate, is continuing an ongoing fight against illicit use of energy by crypto miners. In mid-November, regulators in China's Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia tightened their grip on crypto mining companies, dispatchinginspection units to assure the clean-up and rectification of crypto token mining companies in the region.

In December, Chinese authorities seized nearly 7,000 crypto mining machines, illegally consuming electric power. The confiscation came as part of an inspection of more than 70,000 households, 3,061 merchants, 1,470 communities, as well as factories, mines, courtyards and villages in the Kaiping District of Tangshan city.