Electric Vehicle Charging Station Theft Surge in the US
TapTechNews June 23rd, according to InsideEVs, since 2023, the destruction and theft of electric vehicle charging stations in the US have increased sharply. In the past, although there were occasional acts of vandalism against electric vehicle infrastructure, they were usually due to extreme anti-electric vehicle ideas and occurred less frequently. Recently, however, the motivation for such incidents has shifted to being profit-driven, with thieves targeting the metal materials in the charging cables.
Electric vehicle owners are not the only ones affected. The frequent outages of charging stations have also attracted the attention of government departments. Local and state governments in the US have begun to take measures to strengthen the security of charging stations and increase the anti-vandalism performance of the facilities.
Anthony Lambkin, the vice president of operations at ElectrifyAmerica, said that in the past, they would encounter an incident of a cable being cut on average every few months. The recent surge in theft incidents has seriously affected the operation of charging stations and caused inconvenience to electric vehicle owners. The entire charging station cannot be used due to the theft of cables, which will cause great distress to our users, Lambkin said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.
In May this year, the copper price reached a record high of $5.2 per pound, a 25% increase year-on-year. It is estimated that the value of the copper wire contained in an electric vehicle charging cable is not high, and criminals can only earn about $20 (TapTechNews note: currently about 146 yuan) by selling it to recycling centers. However, despite the meager profits, the rampant theft has not stopped.
Fortunately, recycling centers and electric vehicle charging station operators have begun to take countermeasures. The Recycled Materials Association, in conjunction with local law enforcement, issues scrap theft alerts upon receiving theft reports to raise people's awareness and assist in catching the suspects. ElectrifyAmerica is also installing more cameras at charging stations to increase the possibility of catching criminals.