A court ruling in a case involving the theft of charging cables worth nearly PLN 15,500 from a Powerdot station shows that crimes targeting electromobility infrastructure can lead to real legal and financial consequences. As part of a sentence of restricted liberty, the defendant was ordered to perform 240 hours of community service and must also reimburse the operator for the full value of the stolen property.
A verdict has been issued in a case concerning the theft of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The District Court in Głogów found the perpetrator guilty of stealing two charging cables from a station belonging to the Powerdot network. Powerdot is one of Europe’s largest EV charging operators and supplies more than half of the fast-charging points in Poland.
The incident took place in Przemków, in Lower Silesia. The total value of the two stolen cables was nearly PLN 15,500.
The court sentenced the perpetrator to eight months of restricted liberty, including an obligation to perform unpaid community service for a total of 240 hours. In addition, the court ordered the offender to repair the damage by reimbursing the station operator for the full value of the stolen property. During the eight-month period, the convicted person may not change his permanent place of residence without the court’s consent and is required to provide explanations to a probation officer regarding the course of serving the sentence.
“This is an important signal to everyone — the market, electric vehicle users and thieves — that crimes targeting charging infrastructure are treated seriously by law enforcement authorities and the justice system,” said Grigoriy Grigoriev, General Manager of Powerdot Poland.
“Such actions cause temporary shutdowns of charging stations, affect the comfort of electric vehicle drivers and generate costs for infrastructure operators. This ruling shows that they do not go unpunished and that perpetrators must take into account both criminal and financial liability,” he added.
Electric vehicle charging cables contain a significant amount of copper, which is currently valued at around PLN 40 per kilogram at scrap yards. A single cable may contain from 1.5 kg to 7 kg of copper, translating into a potential gain of several hundred zlotys. This is disproportionate to the possible penalty, which — as this case shows — may be many times higher in financial terms alone.
Selling and buying copper from undocumented sources is also illegal.
