It’s not like the UK doesn’t already have a problem with EV chargers not working. Some say the rate is 6%. In some areas it can be up to 30% non-functional. 46% of EV drivers in the UK say they have had issues
EV chargers hit by spate of cable thefts
Metal thieves have targeted dozens of council-owned electric vehicle chargers across Sheffield.
The city council said at one stage just two of its 27 chargers were in use after being damaged by thieves stealing cabling.
Joe Otten, chair of the street scene committee, said it was believed the cables were being taken for their scrap value, describing the incidents as “immensely frustrating”.
He said the authority was working alongside South Yorkshire Police and using CCTV in a bid to crackdown on the thefts.
They suspect they are being sold for scrap value, and it’s starting to get expensive to keep replacing them
“We all want to move transport to a lower carbon footprint, there are grants to help us get these charging stations rolled out and we have been spending that money and been putting the chargers in, but then it doesn’t work because of these thefts.”
Electric vehicle chargers are funded through the Government’s Getting Building Fund.
I wonder how many of these big wigs are driving EVs themselves. If the chargers are just going to be put in places that no one can monitor them this will continue to happen. When’s the last time you heard about gas pumps being stolen?
Ford has recently been advertising a free at-home charging unit with the sale of their electric vehicles. The ads I’ve seen always show the charger mounted on the exterior of the upper-middle class home, so those charging cables are right there, for the copper thieves to steal!