On Wednesday, authorities executed search warrants at several houses and commercial buildings where suspicious electricity usage patterns had been flagged. The raids, led by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) with support from police and staff from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), were prompted by a complaint from the power utility.
According to investigators, the miners manipulated electricity meters to significantly underreport their usage, resulting in monthly bills of just 100 to 400 baht per site, despite actual consumption being over 250,000 baht per month at each location.
A US study from 2023 found that large-scale bitcoin mining operations with optimized systems consume around 155,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) to mine a single bitcoin. In Thailand, at a rate of 4 baht per kWh, this would amount to about 620,000 baht. For comparison, the average household in Thailand pays approximately 750 baht per month for electricity.
As of yesterday, bitcoin was trading at 2.1 million baht (around $63,100).
The electricity theft at these 10 sites led to losses exceeding 2.5 million baht, said Pol Maj Yutthana Phraedam, acting director-general of the DSI. Numerous cryptocurrency mining rigs and other equipment were confiscated during the raids, and the investigation is ongoing to apprehend those responsible.
