Ephrata, Washington Imposes Year-Long Ban on New Cryptocurrency Mining Operations

The city of Ephrata, Washington, will halt new crypto mining developments in the city for the next 12 months, Eastern Washington and North Idaho daily newspaper The Spokesman Review reports Friday, Oct. 19.

The recently announced suspension will only affect new crypto operations from being established in Ephrata, while the existing four businesses already there will continue operating.

According to Ephrata city administrator Wes Crago, those four crypto operations - including two at the Port of Ephrata, one in an industrial area of the city, as well as one in a residential area - are being relocated at the moment.

Council member Kathleen Allstot clarified that the new ban implies taking a one-year "Break" in order to see "See what's going" in the sphere, as well as to find out how mining fits both in Ephrata and the Grant County Public Utility District.

Crypto mining operations have become increasingly popular in the cities of the Columbia Basin due to the region's cheap electricity sources.

The growth of crypto mining developments in Ephrata has created some inconveniences for the residents, with some reportedly suffering a lack of electricity due to the operation of the high energy-consuming cooling equipment by the local crypto miners.

In addition to the suspension, Grant Cities has developed new - and sufficiently higher - electricity rates for crypto firms, with the new rates set to be enforced in April 2019.

Washington state is reportedly one of the leading crypto mining sites in the world, with one of the biggest mining farms, GigaWatt, located within its borders.

In late July 2018, Franklin PUD commissioners approved a moratorium that will provide staff with extra time to investigate the impact of mining on the electrical system before accepting applications for electricity from crypto mining companies in rural Washington.

Earlier in April, Chelan PUD council members ordered staff to enforce a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining following the discovery of unauthorized mining activities, which were considered as "Unauthorized loads to law enforcement as power theft." And in January, Cointelegraph reported on Washington's Douglas County electrical infrastructure experiencing pressure from cryptocurrency miners.