The National Power Administration of Paraguay (ANDE) has recently detected and seized an illegal bitcoin mining operation hosting 693 miners. ANDE inspectors detected a tampered meter that failed to register all the energy consumed by the equipment connected to the power grid. The detection was carried out using SCADA systems.
Paraguay Keeps Chasing Illegal Bitcoin Mining Operations: 693 Miners Seized
The Paraguayan government is still chasing illegal bitcoin mining operations. On Wednesday, employees from the National Power Administration of Paraguay (ANDE) seized a shed in Hernandarias city, detecting an illicit bitcoin mining operation that hosted 693 mining machines.
The detection was possible due to the implementation of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, which allowed technicians to analyze the power consumption of the area, registering a significant increase. In addition to the 693 miners, a 4,000 KVA transformer was also confiscated.
While some illegal operations of this kind bypass the power meter completely, in this case, operators tampered with the meter, allowing some of the power used by the facility to be registered, but not all. The official ANDE report states that the meter only registered 749,5 kW, while the true power load reached 2,151 kW. This allowed the operators to save 65% of their operating costs.
ANDE stated that this operation “reaffirms its firmness in combating this type of illegal activity that greatly harms the quality of the electrical service in the area and considerably affects the finances of the institution.”
The company calculates that the operation of this facility caused losses of $60,000 monthly, which will have to be paid alongside other fines established by law. According to a law passed by the Paraguayan Senate in July, individuals found to be responsible for this kind of crime can face penalties of up to 10 years of jail time.
The Paraguayan justice has been convicting energy theft crimes harshly. Last week, the owner of a cryptocurrency farm that caused losses of over $1.5 million was sentenced to spend 18 months in prison for stealing energy to mine bitcoin.
