A city in California that was making significant progress in installing electric vehicle chargers was forced to go back to square one after an all-too-common but still unfortunate occurrence.
As explained by the Times-Herald in late July, the city of Vallejo had installed new chargers at four downtown parking lots through a partnership with EVCS and begun construction on charging ports at three community centers. However, the Times-Herald "visited every new charging station" and discovered that the wires had been slashed. One station even had caution tape wrapped around it.
The parking lot that was up first in the city's plan for opening the charging stations was simply waiting for approval from Pacific Gas & Electricity to activate the power. The exposed wires at that lot were covered in electrical tape, but that wasn't the case for any other exposed charging wires discovered by the Times-Herald. It was unclear if the city was aware of the issue, as it had not responded to requests for comment.
In one instance, workers installing new chargers at a community center were just a few feet away from vandalized stations, and they hadn't even noticed the cut wires until they were pointed out. One worker said the vandalized stations were installed that same week, but now "it could take weeks to get replacements," as the Times-Herald reported.
In all, 29 charging wires had been impacted. If those wires cost the same as the ones from similar companies, the Times-Herald estimated the city would be on the hook for "more than a half a million dollars and change for chargers that the public hasn't been able to use yet."
Unfortunately, this sort of activity toward EV owners isn't an isolated incident. Across various cities, EV chargers have been targeted by vandals, causing massive headaches for residents and city officials alike.
For instance, in the Minnesota-St. Paul area, officials determined about 83 chargers had been damaged, leading to costly repairs and a lack of available charging stations for EV owners. This not only disrupts the efforts to promote cleaner transportation and a healthier environment, but it also adds unnecessary expenses and delays to the installation of essential infrastructure.
The Times-Herald noted that the city of Vallejo previously declined to comment on whether it would heighten security at properties with newly installed charging stations. Vallejo Transportation Program Superintendent Mark Helmbrecht said in a previous statement that the goal was to have the chargers up and running by 2025, but it's not clear how much the vandalism has set those plans back.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
