EV Cable Theft Calculator: The Impact On Charge Point Operators

Electric vehicle (EV) charging cable theft has surged into a significant issue for charge point operators (CPOs) across the UK and Europe. Recent police and industry data reveal a dramatic spike in incidents. In the UK, thefts of charging cables more than doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year. One police region even reported more cable thefts in January 2025 alone than in all of 2023 – a startling indication of how rapidly this crime wave is expanding. [1]

Mainland Europe is not immune: a wave of cable thefts hit Italy in late 2024 and spread to Spain in 2025. Thieves, often organized gangs, are cutting cables primarily to extract copper that can be sold as scrap.[2] Ironically, the scrap value is minimal, yet the damage inflicted on infrastructure is immense.

Mainstream media and public authorities have taken notice. The BBC and other outlets have highlighted EV cable theft as a growing problem, labelling it a “significant issue” in some regions.[1] This attention is pushing the issue into public consciousness and for CPOs, that means what was once a hidden nuisance is now a visible threat to their operations and reputation.

The Cable Theft Calculator

This simple tool allows you to enter your own site data such as number of cables, downtime duration, revenue per kWh and sessions per day to generate an accurate cost projection for a theft incident. It also estimates what a proactive investment in CableGuard™ protection would look like in comparison.

This calculator is free to use, and no data is collected or stored. Your inputs are private and are wiped the moment you leave the page – making it a safe, fast and confidential way to understand your potential exposure.

The Financial Toll of EV Cable Theft

For charge point operators, cable theft directly hits the bottom line. Each stolen or damaged charging cable costs an estimated £1200 to replace. This figure accounts for the cable hardware alone, a heavy-duty rapid charging cable is expensive and doesn’t yet include ancillary costs like emergency repairs or technician call-outs. When you factor in those, plus the revenue lost while a charger is out of service, the expenses multiply quickly.

Individual operators have felt the pain acutely. InstaVolt, one of the UK’s largest rapid charging networks, reported that in the span of a year it had cables damaged or stolen 33 times across 13 sites, btween November 2023 and July 2024.[5]

The direct cost to InstaVolt was around £410,000 in that period. These costs include the price of new cables, the manpower to install them, and the revenue lost during the resulting charger downtime. If the police estimation of incidents ‘more than doubling’ are correct, then InstaVolt alone are into the millions lost with no signs of letting up. And InstaVolt is not alone – other major networks like BP Pulse, Osprey, and Gridserve have all suffered similar attacks, indicating that no operator is safe from this trend.

It’s worth noting that the financial impact extends beyond hardware. When a busy charging site is sabotaged, operators not only eat the cost of repairs but also forfeit charging fees for every hour those charge points are offline. Over days or weeks, that lost revenue adds up. Our calculator, which uses conservative industry averages, show that lost revenue can equal above £40,000 on one site with 15 cables stolen, once multiple sites start getting impacted, the costs skyrocket. For CPOs with razor-thin margins and ambitious rollout targets, these unexpected hits can seriously upset financial plans.

A Full-Scope Approach to Site Security

While CableGuard™ provides a powerful physical and forensic barrier to cable theft, the best protection comes from a layered approach. Formula Space offers a full-scope security package that brings together:

• CCTV with 24/7 monitoring
• Security-rated lighting to deter intruders
• CableGuard™ for theft prevention and traceability
• Bespoke signage, tamper alerts and visible deterrents

This joined-up strategy doesn’t just reduce the likelihood of theft, it dramatically improves response time, recovery rate and public confidence. CPOs deploying Formula Space’s full suite of security enhancements are seeing far fewer repeat incidents, smoother insurance renewals, and stronger trust from drivers.

By tackling the problem at every level – physical, forensic, and reputational – we help networks stay operational, profitable, and protected.