EV charger cable crime spree

Thieves are targeting precious metals in cables across UK's public charger network

- JOHN EVANS

Drivers deterred from purchasing an electric car by range anxiety and high list prices can now add another item to their list of worries: public chargers having their cables stolen.

Since November last year, Instavolt, the UK's largest operator of rapid chargers, has had 174 cables stolen from 27 of its sites in Yorkshire and the Midlands. With each cable costing at least £1000, it's an expensive problem - although the company says it's more concerned about the damage the thefts are doing to public confidence in EVs.

"These thefts are extremely frustrating for our customers and for us," said Instavolt CEO Delvin Lane. "The EV revolution is already under way, with more than one million EVs on the road [in the UK]. Our mission is to make EV charging as easy as possible, and reliability is one of our core values." Lane said thieves strike at all hours of the day and night and will even return to the same site to attack it again - on one occasion as soon as eight hours after repairs had been made.