Malaysia's least glamorous crypto story keeps getting bigger. Figures from national utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) reveal that tampered electricity distribution boards used in illegal bitcoin-mining operations have cost the utility RM106 million (about US$25 million) as of June this year.
The numbers
TNB has recorded 437 cases of mining-related power theft across Peninsular Malaysia — 370 of them in Selangor alone. The pattern is consistent: miners bypass the meter entirely, tapping cables directly from the incoming supply and hiding connections above gypsum ceilings. The result is a premises with suspiciously low billed consumption running rows of ASIC rigs around the clock.
The response
TNB is conducting joint raids with the police, the Energy Commission (Suruhanjaya Tenaga) and other agencies. Electricity theft is an offence under the Electricity Supply Act 1990, and later operations have drawn in the MACC — including a case of a trader charged with bribing a TNB officer over mining connections.
The association's view
Let's be clear about what's illegal here: mining itself is lawful in Malaysia — stealing electricity is not. Every meter bypass and every house fire caused by overloaded wiring makes life harder for legitimate operators trying to build data-centre-grade mining businesses with proper power purchase agreements. The industry should be the loudest voice against power theft, not the quietest.