The ACT now leads the nation for electric vehicle chargers per capita, observers say, following today’s announcement that 77 new charging stations would be installed by mid-next year, bringing the ACT’s total to more than 120 – necessary as fossil-fuel vehicles are phased out and replaced with electric vehicles over the next two decades.
“We’re endeavouring to make sure that the provision of public charging structures makes it convenient, gives people confidence that they’ll be able to access [a charger], and generally makes having an EV easier,” Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, said.
The ACT Government contracted JOLT, Evie Networks (in partnership with ActewAGL), and Engie to deliver the stations across Canberra.
Thirty-one charging stations will be installed in the CBD, where demand is greatest. The rest will be distributed across the ACT, from Tuggeranong, Woden, and Weston Creek to Belconnen and Gungahlin.
JOLT will supply 24 in central Canberra. Evie Networks / ActewAGL will provide 35 stations in Civic, Braddon, Jamison, Erindale, Belconnen, Woden, Tuggeranong, Amaroo, Barton, Majura, Casey, and Weston Creek; the first will go live in October. It will also upgrade existing EV charging stations in Civic, New Acton, Dickson, and Manuka.
Mr Rattenbury anticipates they will be at shopping centres, outside cafés, and near gyms.
The first will be set up at Hotel Realm in Barton next week.
The government went out for tender for 50 new charging points with $1.4 million allocated, so 77 was “a terrific outcome”, Mr Rattenbury thought.
“EVs are the future, but the EV demand is still growing more quickly than the charging infrastructure in Australia,” said JOLT’s Sun Lee.
“By having more EV charging stations, we’re creating a network that makes electric transport more accessible to Australians, at zero-cost for 7kWh every day (only with JOLT), and gets us closer to a zero-emissions future.”
Geoff Brady, Evie’s head of marketing and sales, said Evie was delivering Australia’s largest fast and ultra-fast EV charging network, and planned to ensure convenient and dependable public fast charging was available across Australia.
“Our focus is on installing chargers in locations where you want to stop. Places where you can grab a bite to eat, go for a walk, or pick up your groceries.
“Access to reliable, fast charging is a barrier to EV adoption. As interest in EV’s continues to grow, so does the need for convenient places to charge. Combine that with the ACT’s plan to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles over the next 20 years, we’ll see this demand grow and grow. Public EV stations play an important role here in the ACT as many homes. Apartments, and businesses are not currently set up for charging. And of course as the number of EV’s on the road increase, so does the need for more charging infrastructure.”
Todd Eagles, energy transitions manager at ActewAGL, said his company was thrilled to partner with Evie Networks to deliver a bigger and better EV charging network for Canberra.
“ActewAGL remains the trusted energy partner for the majority of Canberrans, and with many expressing a strong desire to do more for environmental sustainability, shifting to emissions free driving represents a logical and practical next step,” Mr Eagles said.
“With the ACT Government’s proposal to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, ensuring the ACT has a reliable and accessible charging network has never been more important.”
The three providers are all commercial operators, so drivers will pay through an app. (The NRMA offers free charging, although that may change.)
“EV drivers can save over $1,000/year on the cost of EV charging, by charging on the JOLT network,” Ms Lee said.
Mr Eagles said the Evie Networks / ActewAGL EV charging network will include several fast chargers which can get vehicles back on the road in minutes – adding a range of up to 50km with a mere 10-minute charge.
The government plans to expand the charging network to 180 public stations by 2025; currently, the ACT has 30 charging stations.
It will also provide subsidies of $2,000 for bodies corporate to retrofit charging infrastructure into their carparks.
HERE Technologies, a global location data and technology platform, publishes an interactive map showing the location and concentration of EV charge stations in Australian states. In July, they said it highlighted significant gaps in EV charge station infrastructure around the country, including in the ACT.
At the time, their data showed the ACT has the highest concentration of charge stations in Australia – almost 19 charge stations for every 1,000 km2 – but ranked sixth out of eight jurisdictions for charge stations per person, with 10.2 charge stations per 100,000 people (or 9,804 people per charging station).
Now, however, the 77 new stations increase the total number of stations to 121, equating to one station per 3,565 people.
“This gives the ACT the number one spot among all states and territories for the highest concentration of EV chargers per capita,” explained Daniel Antonello, the company’s general manager for Australia and New Zealand. “This puts the ACT government in a good position ahead of their mandate to ban petrol cars by 2035.”
But the number of chargers was only part of the equation, he argued, and called for better data.
“Even when the infrastructure is there, we need to make sure it’s being put to best use. EV drivers everywhere have the same questions. How far can my EV go? Where can I recharge? How much does it cost to recharge? How long does it take to recharge? EV drivers want this information at their fingertips, but it’s often stored in disparate sources with no central source of truth, or unavailable in the first place.
“This can lead to challenges for EV drivers, with incomplete or incorrect information leading them to charging locations that either don’t work or don’t exist. These niggles in the system can enhance range anxiety, and push drivers to get frustrated with their EV experience, potentially jeopardising further EV uptake.
“These challenges call for the need to make data accessible for all, in a normalised, secure, intuitive, and safe manner without distracting EV drivers from the task at hand. To do that, EV automotive manufacturers, charging-technology providers, map providers, operators, utilities, and other players within the EV ecosystem must strive for consistency of data and availability of data to enhance the overall driving experience. By consolidating data in a normalised format within a unified technology platform, we will see greater EV adoption.”
