Malaysian biggest energy company fight electricity theft for bitcoin mining. There are special energy tariffs for miners proposed.
Tenaga Nasional proposed special tariffs for bitcoin miners in Malaysia. Tenaga is the largest publicly-traded energy company in Southeast Asia and the biggest electricity company operator in Malaysia.
The move is to stop electricity theft, which become a growing problem in the country because of miners.
Tenaga also asked Energy Commission to encourage bitcoin mining operators to use legal electricity. The company expects growth in electricity theft soon if the problem won’t find a solution.
Crypto mining is legal in Malaysia, but some miners steal electricity with illegal connections to the energy networks. Tenaga reports 7 209 cases of electricity theft in 2021. It’s 12 times increase from 2018.
“The irresponsible perpetrators are doing it at the expense of the security and reliability of supply for the public at large”, – said President and Chief Executive Officer at Tenaga Baharin Din.
He warns that Unauthorized electricity connections can be fire hazards.
During the previous 3 years, a total of 18 individuals has been arrested with an estimated electricity theft of $550 million.
“Implementation of the likes of smart metering, meter data management systems, analytic software and digital power quality products will greatly enhance the availability of critical power demand and supply informationю. That may give the utility such up-to-date data for greater monitoring, planning, and control over the entire eco-system – which includes prevention of power theft”, – Din said.
Sources: Bloomberg
