Path: ...!feeds.phibee-telecom.net!2.eu.feeder.erje.net!feeder.erje.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Your Name Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: Yet Another Reason EVs are a Bad Choice Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:31:56 +1200 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 97 Message-ID: References: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:31:57 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="5936b55465fc28cbf0920a9f7b8750ad"; logging-data="2620051"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+t4D1A4V/rQO8rGHnbiIToFF71Hwzoqos=" User-Agent: Unison/2.2 Cancel-Lock: sha1:gG7dAioWwpIO6raT8kpJwHIY2uk= Bytes: 6468 On 2024-06-13 21:48:10 +0000, moviePig said: > On 6/13/2024 4:36 PM, anim8rfsk wrote: >> moviePig wrote: >>> On 6/12/2024 8:20 PM, BTR1701 wrote: >>>> I've noticed that several of the EV charging stations at my local mall seem to >>>> have the cables ripped out. (There are also huge swaths of L.A. that are now >>>> dark at night because thieves have ripped apart streetlights to steal the >>>> copper inside.) So now even if you happen to find one of the rare chargers >>>> that can 'fuel-up' your EV, you're likely to find it useless due to thievery. >>>> >>>> ---------------------------------- >>>> DETROIT (AP) — Just before 2AM on a chilly April night in Seattle, a >>>> Chevrolet >>>> Silverado pickup stopped at an electric vehicle charging station on the edge >>>> of a shopping center parking lot. Two men, one with a light strapped to his >>>> head, got out. A security camera recorded them pulling out bolt cutters. One >>>> man snipped several charging cables; the other loaded them into the truck. In >>>> under 2½ minutes, they were gone. >>>> >>>> The scene that night has become part of a troubling pattern across the >>>> country: Thieves have been targeting EV charging stations, intent on stealing >>>> the cables, which contain copper wiring. The price of copper is near a record >>>> high on global markets, which means criminals stand to collect rising sums of >>>> cash from selling the material. >>>> >>>> The stolen cables often disable entire stations, forcing EV owners on the road >>>> to search desperately for a working charger. For the owners, the predicament >>>> can be exasperating and stressful. >>>> >>>> Broken-down chargers have emerged as the latest obstacle for U.S. automakers >>>> in their strenuous effort to convert more Americans to EVs despite widespread >>>> public anxiety about a scarcity of charging stations. About 4 in 10 U.S. >>>> adults say they believe EVs take too long to charge or don't know of any >>>> charging stations nearby. >>>> >>>> If even finding a charging station doesn't necessarily mean finding >>>> functioning cables, it becomes one more reason for skeptical buyers to stick >>>> with traditional gasoline-fueled or hybrid vehicles, at least for now. >>>> >>>> Two years ago, according to Electrify America, which runs the nation’s >>>> second-largest network of direct-current fast chargers, a cable might be cut >>>> perhaps every six months at one of its 968 charging stations, with 4,400 plugs >>>> nationwide. Through May this year, the figure reached 129-- four more than in >>>> all of 2023. At one Seattle station, cables were cut six times in the past >>>> year, said Anthony Lambkin, Electrify America's vice president of operations. >>>> >>>> "We're enabling people to get to work, to take their kids to school, get to >>>> medical appointments," Lambkin said. "So to have an entire station that's >>>> offline is pretty impactful to our customers." >>>> >>>> Until a month ago, police in Houston knew of no cable thefts. Then one was >>>> stolen from a charger at a gas station. The city has now recorded eight or >>>> nine such thefts, said Sgt. Robert Carson, who leads a police metal-theft >>>> unit. >>>> >>>> In one case, thieves swiped 18 of 19 cords at a Tesla station. That day, >>>> Carson visited the station to inspect the damage. In the first five minutes >>>> that he was there, Carson said, about 10 EVs that needed charging had to be >>>> turned away. In very large cities like Houston, charging stations typically >>>> contain an especially large number of plugs and cables, so thefts can be >>>> particularly damaging. "They're not just taking one," Carson said. "When >>>> they're hit, they're hit pretty hard." >>>> >>>> The charging companies say it’s become clear that the thieves are after the >>>> copper that the cables contain. In late May, copper hit a record high of >>>> nearly $5.20 a pound, a result, in part, of rising demand resulting from >>>> efforts to cut carbon emissions with EVs that use more copper wiring. The >>>> price is up about 25% from a year ago, and many analysts envision further >>>> increases. >>>> >>>> Charging companies say there isn’t actually very much copper in the cables, >>>> and what copper is there is difficult to extract. Carson estimates that >>>> criminals can get $15 to $20 per cable at a scrap yard. "They're not making a >>>> significant amount of money," he said. "They're not going to be sailing on a >>>> yacht anywhere." >>>> >>>> Still, the more cables the thieves can steal, the more they can cash in. At >>>> $20 a cable, 20 stolen cables could fetch $400. >>>> >>>> The problem for the charging companies is that it’s much costlier to replace >>>> cables. In Minneapolis, where cables have been clipped at city-owned charging >>>> stations, it costs about $1,000 to replace just one cable, said Joe Laurin, >>>> project manager in the Department of Public Works. >>> >>> Sounds like you'd want to strongly discourage this particular theft... >>> >> >> Sounds like whoever’s charging $1000 a cable may be the real crook > > $153.17 for the cable, $946.83 for the electrocution insurance. More like 75c for the cable, $100 for the insurance, and the remaining $899.25 for the installation by an electrician (including a $200 call out fee).