KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has suffered losses amounting to RM4.57bil from illegal electricity use linked to bitcoin mining activities between 2020 and August 2025, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah, who is also the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said that Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) uncovered 13,827 premises involved in electricity theft for cryptocurrency mining, particularly bitcoin farms, over the past five years.
“This activity does not only pose safety risks to consumers, but it also threatens the stability of our economy and presents a serious danger to the national energy supply system,” he said in a parliamentary written reply on Tuesday (Nov 18).
He said the scale of losses required a robust response, adding that TNB has developed an internal database containing complete records of owners and tenants of premises suspected of electricity theft for crypto-mining purposes.
“This database plays a crucial role in identifying and monitoring suspicious premises and forms the basis for enforcement inspections,” he added.
Fadillah said TNB, in cooperation with the ministry, the Energy Commission (ST) and enforcement agencies, has intensified coordinated operations to combat the illicit activity.
This, he said, includes joint raids with the police, National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), CyberSecurity Malaysia, Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), local authorities and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“Through these collaborations, TNB is able to seize bitcoin mining machines and take effective action against the perpetrators,” he said.
According to him, public awareness campaigns have also been rolled out via press statements, television segments and various mass-communication channels to educate the public on the dangers of electricity theft and to encourage tip-offs through TNB’s official reporting channels.
Fadillah said further measures include stakeholder engagements with MPs, ministries, ST and judicial officers, as well as technical monitoring under the Distribution Transformer Meter (DTM) pilot project to detect abnormal usage patterns and potential theft.
Smart meters are also being installed to enable real-time monitoring and quick detection of meter tampering.
“The ministry, together with ST and TNB, remains committed to curbing meter interference and the illegal use of electricity, especially for bitcoin mining.
“These integrated enforcement efforts, awareness programmes and strategic engagements are essential to minimising losses to the electricity supply industry and safeguarding the integrity of the nation’s energy system,” he said.
