Key Points
- Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s national electricity provider, has suffered massive losses due to electricity theft related to Bitcoin mining.
- The losses have escalated significantly over the years, impacting the company’s finances.
Malaysia’s primary electricity provider, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), has reported a loss surpassing 440 million ringgit (approximately $101 million). The loss is attributed to electricity theft associated with unauthorized Bitcoin mining.
Financial Impact
Local reports reveal that the theft has gravely affected TNB’s financial health. In 2023 alone, the company experienced a 103 million ringgit loss. Suhai Rizain, the director of Malaysia’s Criminal Investigation Department, confirmed these figures.
The financial losses linked to cryptocurrency mining have seen a sharp rise over the years. In 2020, TNB reported losses amounting to 5.9 million ringgit. This number surged to 140.4 million ringgit in 2021, followed by 124.9 million ringgit in 2022, and 67.1 million ringgit in the previous year.
Illegal Mining Activities
In July of this year, TNB reported similar losses, exceeding $755 million, due to illicit Bitcoin mining from 2018 to 2023. Akmal Nasir, the deputy minister of energy transition and water transformation, noted that while cryptocurrency mining only represented a small portion of total energy use, it had a substantial financial impact on the nation.
Authorities have also confiscated nearly $500,000 worth of electrical equipment linked to illegal mining operations. Additionally, they have initiated a crackdown on tax evasion involving digital assets.
The Criminal Investigation Department is set to probe the factors leading to these significant losses, focusing particularly on the trends seen in 2022 and 2023.
Illegal Bitcoin (BTC) mining involves the unauthorized use of electricity to power computers that solve intricate mathematical problems, allowing users to earn Bitcoin. This practice can result in considerable electricity consumption, leading to theft when miners fail to pay for the power they utilize.
