The Regional Electricity Authority of Thailand has shut down a Bitcoin mining farm for tampering with power meters to steal electricity worth hundreds of millions of baht.
According to local media, the PEA, in collaboration with the Criminal Content Department, has caught 996 Bitcoin mining rigs during an attack on the mining farm located in the Phanat Nikhom area of Chonburi.
Authorities found that the farm's operators had tampered with their electricity meters to use electricity for mining operations largely free of charge, resulting in millions of baht in losses for the Thai state electricity supplier.
Those responsible for running the operation have yet to be identified, and the CSD is currently obtaining arrest warrants from the court.
The operation was planned in such a way as not to arouse suspicion. An unnamed employee has testified that the theft was well timed to happen at night, with the power meter working as usual during the day to avoid detection.
Bitcoin mining is a complex process that uses high-powered computers to solve mathematical problems, verify transactions, and create new bitcoins. This energy-intensive operation makes electricity the largest operating cost, forcing some operators to resort to illegal means to expand their profit margins.
A recurring issue
Illegal miners have continued to abuse Thailand's power grid, with several raids carried out over the past year after the country saw a mining boom after China's crackdown on the region in 2021.
The PEA, in August 2024, brought down similar activity in Ratchaburi, a city west of Bangkok, after unregistered miners were found to be draining power from the local electricity grid, leading to frequent blackouts in the area and higher costs for consumers – residence.
Recently, there were two from Surat Thani province accused by stealing over $280,000 in electricity to power their mining rigs in an abandoned building.
Meanwhile, back in 2022, the Department of Special Investigation in Bangkok a spear a series of raids, eliminating more than 50 crypto-mining operations that were causing annual losses of more than $10 million in stolen electricity.
Similar activities have been found throughout other parts of the world. As before reported by crypto.news, Malaysia's national electricity supplier revealed, in a report in October 2024, a loss of more than $100 million due to the theft of electricity to run Bitcoin mining hardware.
These events have prompted a global reckoning, with governments tightening regulations, limiting electricity use, raising taxes, and even imposing completely banned to maintain more control over the crypto-mining industry.
