比特币节节攀升，中国“矿工”承包伊朗发电厂切断全国电力？

直到1月11日，伊朗媒体对中国比特币矿的讨论仍中心化在市场准入问题上。但1月11日，一场史无前例的大停电席卷伊朗。之后，画风突然发生了变化。

Until January 11, discussions in the Iranian media about China’s Bitcoin mine were central to market access. But on January 11, an unprecedented blackout hit Iran.

冬季停电限电

Winter power outage.

今年1月11日以来，伊朗已有10多个省市出现大规模限电。1月11日至13日期间，首都德黑兰地区每天按街区随机切断约2小时。先是路灯，然后是家里的灯，一个接一个地熄灭了。德黑兰有1000多万人陷入黑暗。德黑兰工业城市负责人帕尼扬说，停电造成2500个工业单位和生产线受损。第二大城市马什哈德最近从上午9点到中午12点频繁停电，给周边工厂造成巨大损失。甚至有传言称，一些重要的石化厂和化工厂因“断气”而停产。

There have been massive power restrictions in more than 10 provinces and cities in Iran since 11 January. Between 11 and 13 January, the capital, Tehran, was cut randomly by blocks for about two hours a day. Roadlights, followed by home lights, went out one by the other. More than 10 million people fell into darkness in Tehran. Panian, head of Tehran’s industrial city, said that the power outages had damaged 2,500 industrial units and production lines.

●停电时的街道/网络

• Streets/networks during power outages

由于发电和输电设备陈旧，停电在伊朗很常见。就在今年之前，近几十年的大概率停电发生在炎热的夏季。一方面，人们为了避暑而大量开启制冷设备，造成用电负荷过高；另一方面，旧的发电、输电设备在高温、高负荷下发生故障甚至起火。去年7月，伊朗南部胡吉斯坦省和法尔斯省的一些发电厂和变电站因高温50多度的高负荷起火，这让许多海外反伊媒体和阴谋论者猜测，美以战机袭击了伊朗设施。

Power outages were common in Iran, owing to outdated power generation and transmission equipment. Until this year, the high probability of power outages in recent decades occurred in hot summers. On the one hand, large amounts of refrigeration equipment were turned on in order to avoid summer, causing excessive power loads; and, on the other hand, old power generation, transmission equipment malfunctioned at high temperatures, high loads, and even fires.

然而，伊朗在冬天断电是不寻常的。一名伊朗妇女在instagram上开玩笑说，“艾哈迈迪内贾德执政时，我们只是在夏天停电。鲁哈尼上台后，现在冬天停电了。下一届政府上台后，我们会全年停电吗？”

However, it is unusual for Iran to lose power in winter. An Iranian woman joked on instagram that, “When Ahmadinejad came to power, we were out of power only in the summer. When Rouhani came to power, it was out in the winter. Will we be out of power all year after the next government comes to power?”

面对公众的不满和质疑，伊朗政府甚至还没有确定对停电原因的一贯解释。

In the face of public discontent and questioning, the Iranian Government has not even established a consistent explanation of the reasons for the power outages.

德黑兰市议会主席和环境保护部长先后将此次停电归咎于空气污染的防治。最近几周，德黑兰多个地区的空气污染指数已经超过200，伊朗卫生部也发布了健康警告。据环保部部长介绍，为了保护清洁空气，全国各地电厂不再使用重油作为燃料。因此，电厂出现燃料和发电不足的现象，许多地方出现了限电现象。德黑兰电力公司建议公众为了环保，减少10%的用电量。

The President of the Tehran City Council and the Minister of Environmental Protection have attributed the power outages to air pollution control. In recent weeks, the air pollution index in several parts of Tehran has exceeded 200, and the Iranian Ministry of Health has issued health warnings.

德黑兰近期雾霾/网络

Tehran’s Recent Haze/Network

伊朗石油部和电力部认为，停电原因是冬季来临，人们取暖用气增加，导致发电厂用气减少，导致供电不畅。伊朗政府向全体民众发短信，建议民众多穿厚衣服，少开窗户，以减少汽油消耗。不过，早些时候，covid-19建议人们在新皇冠期间应开窗通风，以防止呼吸道传染病，减轻病房压力。

According to the Iranian Ministry of Oil and Electricity, the power outage was caused by the onset of winter and the increase in heating gas, which reduced the use of gas in power plants and led to a lack of electricity. The Iranian government texted the entire population, suggesting that people should wear thick clothes and keep their windows open in order to reduce gasoline consumption.

其实，这些说法背后有一个逻辑：供暖还是环保？为了保暖，重油只能用来填补发电厂天然气燃料的缺口。为了环保，不要期望在家里太暖和。

In fact, there is a logic behind these claims: heating or environmental protection? In order to keep it warm, heavy oil can only be used to fill the gas fuel gap in power plants. For the sake of environmental protection, don't expect to be too warm at home.

然而，重油已经停止燃烧，电力也停止了。德黑兰的空气污染指数仍然没有下降的迹象。公众开始质疑：我们的电在哪里？此时，一些伊朗媒体开始向在伊朗挖比特币的中国人抛出黑锅。

However, heavy oil has stopped burning and electricity has stopped. The air pollution index in Tehran still shows no sign of a decline. The public is beginning to question where our electricity is. At this point, some Iranian media are starting to throw black pots at Chinese diggers of bitcoin in Iran.

比特币背罐

Bitcoin can.

1月8日，塔瓦科尔的推特被恩特哈布新闻和其他自由媒体转出，成为中国比特币矿工占领伊朗人民电力份额的“法庭证据”。

On 8 January, Tawakor's Twitter was turned out by the Enthab news and other free media as “court evidence” of the Chinese miner Bitcoin's occupation of the Iranian people's share of electricity.

桐城日报著名记者努里（Mahsud Nouri）在推特上说，中国科尔曼省的煤矿负荷为175兆瓦，1万台低效的m3电脑。他直接要求伊朗电力部作出回应。

On Twitter, Mahsud Nouri, a prominent journalist for the daily newspaper Kirman Province in China, said that the coal mine was 175 megawatts and 10,000 inefficient m3 computers. He directly requested a response from the Iranian Ministry of Electricity.

由沙特支持的反伊朗波斯语电视台“伊朗国际”和美国支持的法尔达电台、马诺托电台等新闻电视媒体很快抓住机会，直接指责中国矿工与伊朗革命卫队合作挖矿，结果造成不信任为伊朗人民用电，并在伊朗人民中发表了“电力已经停止，污染还没有消失，用电要怪中国人民”的言论。

The news and television media, such as Radio Farda and Radio Manoto, the Saudi-backed anti-Iranian Persian-language television station “Iran International” and the United States-backed news channel, quickly seized the opportunity to directly accuse Chinese miners of working with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to dig mines, resulting in distrust of the use of electricity for the Iranian people and the publication among the Iranian people of “electricity has stopped, pollution has not disappeared and the use of electricity blames the Chinese people”.

面对国内外媒体掀起的舆论风暴，伊朗政府的回应仍然十分模糊。

The response of the Iranian Government remains vague in the face of a public opinion storm in the domestic and foreign media.

1月12日，电力行业发言人马沙迪直接将“非法利用比特币”定义为停电的罪魁祸首。电力部长阿尔达·科尼扬的说法是重复和矛盾的。首先，承认中国人确实在挖矿比特币，但同时澄清，所有中国比特币矿都拥有合法许可证，可以继续合法经营。后来有人说，中国的矿业是伊朗限电的原因之一。

On January 12, the power industry spokesman, Mashadi, defined “illegal use of Bitcoin” as the main cause of power outages. The Minister of Electricity, Arda Konyan, repeated and contradicted his statement.

*伊朗电力部长埃尔达·科尼扬/中新网

:: Iranian Minister of Electricity, Erda Konyan/Sino-New Network

13日下午，鲁哈尼办公室发言人表示，伊朗当局从未参与挖矿（尽管革命卫队一直在挖矿，通过比特币交易逃避制裁）。一是撇开挖矿用电责任不谈，强调打击非法挖矿者，寓意合法挖矿者权益得到保护。

In the afternoon of 13, the Rohani office spokesperson stated that the Iranian authorities had never been involved in mining (although the Revolutionary Guards had been digging for mines and had evaded sanctions through the Bitcoin trade). First, leaving aside the responsibility for the use of electricity for mining, it was emphasized that the interests of illegal diggers were protected by the intention of legal diggers.

然而，伊朗电力部当天晚以“尊重民意”为借口，暂停了这家拥有合法牌照的中国比特币矿业公司在科尔曼省拉夫桑吉安经济特区的运营。伊朗政府14日证实，已叫停所有获得许可的中国比特币挖矿公司。

However, on the pretext of “respect for public opinion” the Iranian Ministry of Electricity suspended the operation of the Chinese mining company Bitcoin, with its legal licence plate, in the Rafsangian Economic Special Zone in Kerman Province. The Iranian government confirmed on 14th that it had shut down all licensed Chinese mining companies in Bitcoin.

“暴利行业人人羡慕”

"Everybody envied in the profit business."

经营比特币矿的L先生透露，外国比特币公司要在伊朗生存并不容易。除了巨额的办证成本外，当地政府部门在公司运营过程中还要时不时地打听一番，甚至连员工都给公司制造了麻烦。按他的话说：“暴利行业，大家都羡慕！”

Mr. L, who runs the Bitcoin, has revealed that it is not easy for a foreign company to survive in Iran. In addition to the huge licensing costs, local government departments are constantly asking about the company’s operations, and even employees are causing trouble to the company. According to him, “In the business of thugs, everyone envy!”

事实上，伊朗政府早就对比特币的耗电量进行了研究，认为挖矿一枚比特币的耗电量约为7.2万千瓦时，相当于德黑兰28户家庭的年耗电量。伊朗地区区块组织董事会成员表示，即使全世界比特币矿工在伊朗挖矿，其耗电量也只有7000兆瓦，这还不到伊朗国家电力运输损失的1万兆瓦电力。就连伊朗电力部长科尼扬（Arda koniyan）也承认，比特币挖矿仅占伊朗全国38000兆瓦电力负荷的300兆瓦。

Indeed, the Iranian government has long studied the amount of electricity consumed in bitcoin, arguing that mining a bitcoin is about 72,000 kilowatt-hours, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 28 families in Tehran. Board members of Iranian block organizations say that even the world’s Bitcoin miners dig in Iran at only 7,000 megawatts, which is less than 10,000 megawatts of electricity lost in Iran’s national electricity transport.

然而，电力危机显然为政府利用比特币公司的巨额利润提供了一个绝佳的机会：据当地消息人士透露，伊朗政府关闭了合法经营的公司，因为很难再利用这些公司。顺便说一句，它可以阻止人们的抱怨，而它却对那些可以要求进一步贿赂的无证矿业公司睁一只眼闭一只眼。

However, the electricity crisis clearly provides an excellent opportunity for the government to take advantage of the huge profits of Bitcoin: according to local sources, the Iranian government shut down legally operated companies, because it is difficult to use them again. By the way, it can deter people’s complaints, while it closes its eyes to undocumented mining companies that can demand further bribes.

这位官员说，“非法使用比特币侵犯了人们的用电权”/CITNA.IR公司

According to the official, “the illegal use of Bitcoin violates people's right to electricity”/CITNA.IR

当然，除了利益剥削，这次被迫合法运营的比特币实际上更多的是为了掩盖伊朗近年来能源开发不力的现实。

Of course, in addition to profit exploitation, the bitcoin, which was forced to operate legally this time, is actually more designed to mask the reality of Iran's weak energy development in recent years.

2017年，鲁哈尼政府誓言在2021年任期结束前，让全国人民在冬季使用天然气供暖。因此，近年来，我们大力铺设管道，将一些偏远贫困地区接入天然气供应网络。天然气消费量大，但在供应方面，由于资金和技术难以在国际制裁下进入伊朗油气田开发市场，拥有世界上最大天然气储量的伊朗一直面临挖矿瓶颈。

In 2017, the Rouhani government vowed to heat the country’s population during the winter by the end of its 2021 term. Thus, in recent years, we have worked hard to pave pipelines to connect some of the remote and impoverished areas to natural gas supply networks.

如今，为了履行诺言，更多的天然气分配给人们的家庭，而更少的天然气分配给工业发电。此外，今年比往年更冷，德黑兰的用电量比往年多15%。发电厂切断煤气和电力是很自然的事。

Today, in keeping with their promises, more natural gas is distributed to people’s households, while fewer natural gas is allocated to industrial power generation. Moreover, it is colder this year than in previous years, with Tehran spending 15% more electricity than in previous years. It is natural for power plants to cut off gas and electricity.

然而，除了政治，鲁哈尼政府是否考虑关闭合法比特币矿对伊朗投资环境的影响？

However, apart from politics, does the Rouhani Government consider the impact of the closure of the legal bitcoin on the investment climate in Iran?