KUALA LUMPUR: Over 200,000 cases of electricity theft, valued at over RM400mil, has been reported in the last eight years, says the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry
The ministry said Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) had received a total of 218,852 claims for losses due to electricity theft from 2017 to 2024, which is estimated to be worth around RM440mil.
It revealed that currently 85,161 of the cases remain active, while another 1,723 cases are under negotiation for settlement with the remaining 131,968 cases having been successfully resolved and closed.
“Electricity theft not only causes financial losses to the country but also affects the stability of the electricity supply enjoyed by other users.
“Therefore, the Ministry is committed in its efforts to combat this activity through stricter enforcement and firm actions against offenders,” it said in a parliamentary written reply on Tuesday (Mar 4).
The ministry added that it had implemented five initiatives in an effort to curb this practice.
This included integrated raid operations involving the other enforcement agencies like the police; granting the police investigation powers; conducting public awareness campaigns; and providing a platform for public reports and complaints through e-aduan and social media.
The ministry also said it had begun using drones equipped with high-resolution cameras and heat sensors to detect and verify the location of illegal electricity-guzzling cryptocurrency mining dens.
The ministry was responding to Syahredzan Johan (PH–Bangi) on the statistics of loss claims and the amount claimed by TNB in cases of electricity theft over the last five years and what steps the ministry would take in cases involving low-income groups and document forgery by tenants.
