Copper Wire-Stripping Thieves Who Target EV Chargers Are a Threat to EV Adoption

Copper cable theft has increased in Los Angeles and other cities, but with thieves looking to cut wires outside street lights, drivers hoping to use EV chargers are sometimes caught off guard.

But crime is a dangerous proposition for the person who wants to steal copper from the station. Using high voltage charging units and not paying a lot of money from scrap buyers, it’s only questionably worth the effort. For those trying to end this suffering, a focus on the economics of engagement may create a possible solution.

Now that significant numbers of cut wires and broken charging units are being collected for copper wiring, companies, governments and EV advocates are proposing everything from greater enforcement and fines to covering vandalized wires with ink — similar to measures employed against bank robbers. Such a system has also been discussed in the UK. According to a BBC story from April.

Based in Los Angeles Charger helpwhich helps trained technicians diagnose and repair EV charging stations and offers data on station uptime and downtime, and Los Angeles Cleantech Incubatorrecently spoke about the city’s problem where many neighborhoods continue to experience widespread copper wire theft, including some blackouts. Theft of public and workplace EV charging stations has also increased, costing hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair each.

“For second-tier, slower chargers, you’re looking at $650 to $700 for connectors and labor. But then, when you start talking about DC fast chargers, it can go up to $1,500,” said Kamele C., CEO of ChargerHelp. Terry told KABC in Los Angeles 22 October.

Some solutions sound simple, like using thick cables that are difficult to cut, or wireless charging pads for cars. But thicker cables are heavier and more cumbersome to use for some drivers and only with EVs Wireless charging capability Set for sale in the United States Porsche Cayenne Electricwhich has only been seen in prototype form at this time.

Several California bills have been signed in the past few years to hold agencies accountable for broken and vandalized public EV charging stations in the state, such as forcing the state to locate and repair broken charging units within 30 days.

Recently California Governor Gavin Newsom signed A bill of legislation that imposes stricter laws and penalties for metal recycling requires identification and personal information from the seller, identification of the vehicle used to transport the material and that the metal being sold has been legally obtained. There are also restrictions on what scrap metal buyers can legally accept, noting the materials from EV chargers.

Even the charging stations in his office have been targeted, says Matt Petersen, CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. And he and Terry told KABC they’re also concerned that the vandalism of charging stations will further hurt EV adoption and slow the addition of stations for existing electric drivers — unless a solution is found soon.

“All of our focus is, ‘How do we accelerate transportation electrification?'”