InstaVolt uses GPS tracking to catch thieves stealing its electric vehicle charging cables
Photo: Installvolt
A rise in thefts of electric vehicle charging cables is threatening the reliability of the UK's charging network and undermining motorist confidence. InstaVolt is the UK's largest fast charging network and in the last two years almost 1,000 of its charging points (there are over 2,100, so almost 50%) have been targeted by cable thieves. But now InstaVolt is defending itself with GPS tracking.
Amazingly, the incentive for thieves is low-quality junk: there's only about £25 ($33) worth of copper in a charging cable. But the damage is costly – about £1,000 ($1,342) per site for repairs.
In April, InstaVolt CEO Delvin Lane told the BBC that the thefts had cost his company around 410,000 pounds ($550,150) since November 2023. Lane said: “This isn't just an InstaVolt problem, it's an industry problem. The biggest impact is on drivers.”
InstaVolt has reinforced its cables with Kevlar jackets, making them harder to cut. In collaboration with GPS provider Trackit247, the company has also launched live GPS tracking across its network via its charging cables. The technology provides location updates every three seconds, allowing the company to detect, track and recover stolen cables in real time.
Each charging cable is geographically zoned with its charger, so if it moves outside the designated area, an alert is triggered immediately. InstaVolt's 24/7 security center receives instant alerts via SMS, email and phone and can coordinate directly with police.
The biggest advantage of the system is live tracking during transport. If a thief drives away with a charging cable, the police can follow his exact route and intervene quickly, increasing the chance of recovery and arrest. Instavolt's GPS technology represents a major advance in protecting critical EV infrastructure, preventing theft and enabling rapid response in the event of an incident.
Read more: Meet the UK's largest solar and storage electric vehicle charger, Superhub
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