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Path: ...!news.nobody.at!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: Yet Another Reason EVs are a Bad Choice Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2024 18:31:22 -0400 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 110 Message-ID: <v4frvq$2ftbt$1@dont-email.me> References: <_NGdnQo7bcjKpvf7nZ2dnZfqn_SdnZ2d@giganews.com> <v4fh9a$2dq8a$1@dont-email.me> <318219596.740003696.512701.anim8rfsk-cox.net@news.easynews.com> <XCOdnSy8GM6P8fb7nZ2dnZfqnPYAAAAA@giganews.com> Reply-To: nobody@nowhere.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:31:22 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="7af774e2553b62955d712a3bbcd7c2e9"; logging-data="2618749"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+jGNwcUoD6hM5mVd5764DjJyumAcVpmsU=" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:7N1xmL850I07Jk+yGIgUWPazwgU= In-Reply-To: <XCOdnSy8GM6P8fb7nZ2dnZfqnPYAAAAA@giganews.com> Content-Language: en-US Bytes: 6986 On 6/13/2024 6:00 PM, BTR1701 wrote: > On Jun 13, 2024 at 1:36:30 PM PDT, "anim8rfsk" <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote: > >> moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> 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 > > My favorite EV moment was the idiot who we saw standing next to his car at the > mall, holding the charger the same way people hold the gas nozzle while > filling up. He was "pumping" electricity into his car, I guess. I bet a lot of people do that ...once.