Malaysia Reports 300% Spike in Power Theft Linked to Illegal Crypto Mining

Malaysia’s multinational electricity company Tenaga Nasional Berhad has revealed that cases of illegal mining have increased in the country. These illicit mining activities have led to a 300% rise in electricity theft within six years.

The electricity utility company reported that the average number of complaints related to cryptocurrency was 1,699, with an average of 340 per month.

How Malaysia Tackles the Issue

A joint operation was created to tackle these menaces. The joint operation includes the TNB, Energy Commission, the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and local councils. These entities have conducted nationwide raids. The raids have eliminated these illegal mining firms from 610 to 2,397 between 2018 and 2024.

To enhance its plans to curb illegal crypto mining activities, TNB has expanded its smart meter deployment. This helped to detect electricity theft and enable efficient monitoring promptly. The smart meter records daily electricity usage and communicates this information to the Malaysian electricity firm via radio-­frequency waves for monitoring and billing.

In addition, TNB has proposed stricter legal enforcement under the Electricity Supply Act. It also plans to employ artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve the detection and flagging of suspicious electricity consumption among users.

The electricity company said the average annual number of crypto-related electricity theft cases stood at 2,303 between January 2020 and December 2024.

Not the First

Occurrences of entities running illegal Bitcoin mining rigs in a country are not uncommon. In February, the Russian electricity provider Rosseti Group revealed that it parted ways with over $14 million last year over illegal mining operations. The company discovered that these illegal mining activities occurred in various regions nationwide. In one instance, an illegal miner was reported to have 3,200 mining machines in one location, exacerbating the matter. The cumulative power usage caused power congestion and affected many grids.

In another report, Thailand reported invading an illegal Bitcoin mining facility. The raid came weeks after occurrences of frequent power outages.

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