Epidemic of cable thefts from electric car charging points threatens future of Net Zero motoring as gangs target two sites a day
The cables have a scrap value of between £15 and £25 but costs at least £1,000 to replace at public charge points. One force saw an eight-fold increase in incidents at EV charging points. Despite clear CCTV and national electric vehicle charging network Be.EV putting up ‘wanted’ posters, the thief has never been caught. Charging network InstaVolt said dealing with the cable theft epidemic forces engineers to divert from essential maintenance and new installations, delaying network expansion. InstaVolt said that since November 2023, more than 900 EV charging cables have been cut from InstaVolt sites, with the West Midlands being one of the worst-hit areas.
Source: Daily Mail January 24, 2026 03:33 UTC
