PETALING JAYA: Power theft for crypto mining will lead to recurring interruptions in electricity supply as it causes system breakdowns, disruption to businesses, and places people’s safety at risk through the threat of fires, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) said.

“With increased cooperation from the Energy Commission, police and local councils, TNB has detected a total of 1,368 cases of power theft from January to April this year,” the company told theSun.

It said such miners were conducting their illegal activities at the expense of the security and reliability of power supply for the public.

While it is legal to mine crypto in Malaysia, TNB said it becomes illegal when miners steal electricity either by tampering with meter installations or bypassing the meter through illegal connections.

Last Thursday, a team from the Hilir Perak district police headquarters seized 72 Bitcoin mining machines worth RM140,000 at a shophouse suspected to have been used to steal electricity in Jalan Intan 3, Bandar Baru Teluk Intan.

The illegal electricity connection consumed a huge load to mine Bitcoin, and compromised the integrity and stability of power supply in the area.

It was previously reported that from 2018 to 2021, 7,209 cases of power theft for Bitcoin mining were recorded, with estimated losses of RM2.3 billion, or 4,545GWh (gigawatt hours) of electricity.

“Crypto miners run their systems non-stop, consuming a large amount of energy. In a day, a Bitcoin machine is estimated to use 32KWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity, which is equivalent to two one-horsepower air-conditioners switched on 24 hours a day. The others, such as the cooling systems and lighting, also run non-stop.

“In addition, the network of wiring in a cryptocurrency mining premises puts the…