Rampant theft at charging stations is becoming a new problem in the Biden-Harris administration's broader push to promote electric vehicles (EVs), Bloomberg reported on Monday. [emphasis, links added]
Thieves across the country are targeting public electric vehicle charging stations, extracting copper from charging cables and selling them for cashEspecially in places like Seattle, Las Vegas and Oakland, according to Bloomberg.
Inconsistent charger performance has troubled consumers considering replacements, and executives at top electric vehicle charging companies are working on solutions Address the growing epidemic of device theft and vandalism.
“This is happening across the country,” ChargePoint President and CEO Rick Wilmer told Bloomberg News.The way and frequency with which we see this sort of thing happen is shocking.
In one day earlier this year, criminals cut several cables at an electric vehicle charging station near ChargePoint's headquarters in Silicon Valley. The company estimated that 80% of the vandalism incidents it recorded involved cutting wiresAccording to Bloomberg.
About 20% of EV charging attempts fail, 10% of which are due to damaged or completely missing cables.
Anthony Lambkin, vice president of operations for Electrify America, told Bloomberg News that the rise in property crimes targeting electric vehicle chargers “is a top priority for us and has been since the beginning of the year.”
So far in 2024, the company has discovered 215 damaged charging lines, a significant increase from the 79 damaged charging lines during the same period last year.
Copper is valuable, but thieves who want to turn electric vehicle vandalism into a lucrative venture would have to steal on a large scale to generate large amounts of cash, according to Bloomberg.
“The financial reward hardly justifies the risk and effort involved,” Travis Allan, chief legal and public affairs office at FLO, the company that oversees the electric vehicle charging network, told Bloomberg News.
However, for the company that owns the equipment, repairing damaged equipment is costly: Replacing slower-charging cables can cost up to $700 each Change types at the same time Faster cables to charge electric cars cost up to $4,000According to Bloomberg.
Companies that are grappling with an increase in property crimes against their devices are exploring a range of strategies to combat the trend, such as using cameras and speakers to scare away would-be thieves.
For Sara Rafalson, executive director of policy at EVgo, a charging company, there should be a simple solution. “Ultimately, this will require a larger enforcement response,” Rafason told Bloomberg News.
Read the break from The Daily Caller
