5 Years of Electric Rationing: The Challenge of Bitcoin Mining in Venezuela

• The firm Ecoanalítica anticipates recurrent blackouts in the country over the next five years.
• The rise in the national hash rate occurs under a total ban and illegal connections.

The consulting firm Ecoanalítica projects that the deficiencies of Venezuela's National Electric System (SEN) and episodes of rationing will continue recurrently over the next five years, consolidating as a structural restriction for the country.

According to a report from the company cited by Infobae on October 7, 2026, Venezuela's electric supply hardly exceeds 13,000 megawatts (MW) at times of maximum availability, while demand has already surpassed 15,000 MW, generating a deficit that acts as the main bottleneck for any attempt at economic reactivation.

The consultant's diagnosis details that the national thermoelectric park operates below 15% of its potential after years of disinvestment, which shifts the demand to hydroelectric generation from the Guri complex.

This facility currently operates at 60% of its capacity and has seven of its 20 turbines out of service.

According to the report, the recent emergency shutdown of Unit 17 will keep a 770 MW turbine inoperable for at least two years, limiting the water flow to the Caruachi and Macagua plants, resulting in a combined loss of 1,200 MW in the Lower Caroní.
Simón Bolivar Hydroelectric Plant, located in the Guri dam. Source: Wikipedia.

Daily interruptions reach six to eight hours in areas like Zulia and Los Andes, affecting more than 98% of homes and businesses, and even impacting 82% of users in Caracas.

This bleak energy outlook contrasts with statistics on Bitcoin mining in the country.

Data from Hashrate Index at the close of the third quarter of 2026, previously reported by CriptoNoticias, indicates that Venezuela increased its hash rate by 122% year-on-year, adding 4 exahashes per second (EH/s) just in the last quarter to reach a total of approximately 10 EH/s.

This volume places the Venezuelan market above jurisdictions like Laos or Finland, despite the fact that the activity is conducted under a total ban in effect since mid-2024.

The increase in computing power in Venezuelan territory does not correspond to an improvement in the formal supply of the SEN.

With a global hashprice under pressure, hovering around 40 dollars per petahash daily at the end of September, operators seek low-cost electricity to maintain the profit margins of their equipment.

Reports from this media highlight that some miners achieve this goal through informal or illegal connections to the grid, as evidenced by the dismantling of clandestine facilities in San Félix and Aragua during May.

Another documented method consists of locating mining data centers near generation sources to consume energy that cannot be transported through the grid due to deficiencies and losses in the distribution system.

Although the Minister of Electric Energy, Rolando Alcalá, announced the incorporation of 1,300 MW into the system for the last quarter of the year through agreements with transnational companies, the Venezuelan Confederation of Industries (Conindustria) revealed that during the second quarter of 2026 companies reported a 68% increase in hours worked without electric supply compared to the first quarter.

The coexistence of a severely limited electric grid and the advancement of Bitcoin mining poses direct obstacles to the development of the industry in the country.

In light of the expectation of structured rationing for five years, it is highly unlikely that authorities will consider legalizing cryptocurrency mining in the short term, as the state cannot guarantee the energy necessary for the population and the industrial sector.

At the same time, the very lack of constant electric supply threatens to become an inescapable operational barrier for local mining activity, which requires uninterrupted energy to be profitable, severely conditioning the sustainability of this informal growth.

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