Thai authorities unplug Bitcoin mine that stole millions of baht in electricity

Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority 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 Crime Suppression Division, has seized 996 Bitcoin mining rigs during a raid on the mining farm located in the Phanat Nikhom district of Chonburi.

Authorities discovered the operators of the farm had tampered with their electricity meters to use electricity for mining operations largely free of charge, leading to millions of baht in losses for the Thai state electricity provider.

Those responsible for running the operation are yet to be identified, and the CSD is in the process of obtaining arrest warrants from the court.

The operation was planned in a manner that would not raise suspicions. An unnamed staff member has testified that the theft was cleverly timed to occur only at night, with the power meter functioning 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 activity makes electricity the largest operational cost, leading some operators to resort to illegal methods to stretch their profit margins.

A recurring issue

Thailand’s power grid has been persistently abused by illegal miners, with several raids conducted over the past year after the country witnessed a mining boom following China’s crackdown on the sector in 2021.

The PEA, in August 2024, took down a similar operation in Ratchaburi, a town 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 residents.

More recently, two individuals from the Surat Thani province were charged with stealing over $280,000 in electricity to power their mining rigs in an abandoned property.

Meanwhile, back in 2022, the Department of Special Investigation in Bangkok spearheaded a series of raids, dismantling over 50 crypto-mining operations that were causing yearly losses of over $10 million in stolen electricity.

Similar activities have been uncovered across other corners of the globe. As previously reported by crypto.news, Malaysia’s national electricity provider, in an October 2024 report, disclosed losses upwards of $100 million stemming from electricity theft to run Bitcoin mining hardware.

These incidents have sparked a global reckoning, with governments tightening regulations, limiting electricity use, hiking tariffs, and even imposing outright bans to exert greater control over the crypto-mining industry.