A subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) reportedly recorded a total loss of Rm16 million in this 11-month period following the mining of crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) using illegal electricity connections in Sabah.
In the series, the SESB together with the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) raided 54 premises that did the illegal electricity connection and arrested one of the offenders in Tuaran, commented Chief Executive Officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar.
He added that he hopes that various parties can report to him directly if there is any such activity that could result in the company or consumer experiencing supply disruptions due to excessive current loads and illegal connections.
He also said that SESB will create 11 enforcement teams to curb BTC mining activities through illegal electricity connections that have been operating since 2018 from happening again.
The announcement is said to have been made on Wednesday after Mohd Yaakob completed the ceremony of handing over SESB operational support equipment to the Criminal Investigation Department (JSJ), the headquarters of the Sabah contingent police.
It was clarified that the following actions were implemented as a result of illegal BTC mining activities that resulted in Sabah losing 7% equivalent to RM140 million a year.
In the meantime, the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Datuk Seri Abdul Jalil Hassan also approved the cooperation between PDRM and SESB which is likely to be able to combat activities such as electricity theft or crypto mining in Sabah.
In fact, he also informed that SESB has provided support equipment to policemen worth RM120,000 to be used during operations to eradicate crypto mining activities in Sabah.
