Police are hunting a band of suspected copper thieves after at least six public electric vehicle (EV) chargers were cut across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
The vandalism has occurred since June 17 around public car parks at Hamilton, Newcastle West, Kotara, Wallsend, Swansea and Warners Bay.
Tesla supercharger sites at Raymond Terrace and West Gosford have also been reportedly attacked by thieves.
In each case the EV charging cables were cut and the copper removed.
"Enquiries are continuing to determine whether the incidents are linked," a Newcastle police spokesperson said.
"Anyone with CCTV, dashcam footage or information about these incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000."
The incidents occurred at a mix of private and council-owned EV stations.
Fast or DC (direct current) chargers have thicker copper cabling, making them more attractive to thieves.
The Newcastle Herald understands the damage caused to the City of Newcastle's fast EV chargers at No.2 Sportsground at Newcastle West and at Cleary Street in Hamilton will cost more than $10,000 to replace.
"Replacement cables have been ordered, and City of Newcastle is working to restore the chargers as soon as possible," a council spokesperson said.
"The loss of income from the EV chargers will place further pressure on our budget at a time when staff are already undertaking a review of expenditure to enable council's decision to reduce pool entry to $2."
Two weeks ago, vandals also hit Lake Macquarie City Council's fast EV charger at the Swansea Centre and a public station in the Warners Bay Grove shopping centre on Hillsborough Road.
It is expected to cost just under $1000 to replace the Swansea Centre EV charger.
"We typically follow Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles when siting EV charger installations", a spokesperson for Lake Macquarie City Council said.
"Most of our public EV charging stations don't have cables."
There have been about 470 copper theft incidents since June 2025 across the Ausgrid network, with the highest concentration in Newcastle, the Hunter and the Central Coast.
While Ausgrid did not own or operate any public EV chargers in the Hunter, the electricity distributor's head of the Northern Region, Nick Richardson, said the rise in copper theft was concerning.
"Copper theft can be extremely dangerous," Mr Richardson said.
"When electrical infrastructure is involved, the consequences can be severe or even fatal.
"As charging infrastructure continues to expand, addressing cable theft will be important to ensuring charging remains safe, reliable and available for everyone.
"We encourage anyone with information about these incidents to contact NSW Police."
