Electricity consumption by cryptocurrency mining could be useful, but only in areas where additional power capacity is available, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak, whose portfolio includes energy, told RBK on Friday. He was commenting on a recent initiative by the Russian government to impose restrictions on crypto mining in several regions facing electricity shortages. Novak explained that crypto mining has a “positive effect on the evenness of power load and leads to a specific reduction in costs.” However, it has a downside when it “eats up” all available capacity, impeding the connection of new customers to the grid.