KIRO 7
Thieves on the hunt for copper have found a new target: electric vehicle charging stations.
Seattle City Light says eight of its EV charging stations have been hit since last March. The thieves are looking for what the utility says is a small amount of copper.
Thieves hit the charging station in Seattle’s Central District just this past weekend. And that was the second time thieves vandalized this EV charging station.
Now owners of electric vehicles are finding signs posted on EV stations indicating they are not working.
“So, they’re coming, and they’re taking an implement, and they’re cutting it off at the end,” said Jenn Strang, a spokesperson for Seattle City Light.
She showed us just what the thieves were after.
“So, you can see at the end where there is a small amount of copper,” Strang said, pointing to the remaining stub. “But the rest of it is just an insulated cable.”
A small amount of copper and not a large return.
“What they think is very valuable turns out not to be very valuable at all,” Strang said.
The value? “It’s about $10,” she said.
You can see the cables the thieves are slicing off at electric vehicle charging stations that haven’t been targeted…
