As more Australians start driving electric vehicles — July saw another record month for sales — kerbside chargers for EVs are becoming a more common sight across the North Shore. But how do they get there? How fast are they? Whose job is it to maintain the infrastructure? And does the council get a cut?
What happened: The municipality of North Sydney is set to receive 27 new EV chargers at 15 locations across Cammeray, Crows Nest and Neutral Bay.
The proposed chargers have a 22W current, meaning they’re not designed for rapid charging but for residents who have more time to plug in and top up.
Rapid chargers — typically, those in excess of 100KW — can take a car on low charge to around 80 percent in under an hour. North Sydney has eight of these in the Crows Nest Alexander Street car park.
How many chargers are installed and where they go is decided by the company building the chargers, though they must seek council permission.
EVX operates charging stations across NSW and Victoria and is behind the new stations in the North Sydney LGA. It determines the best spots for chargers and covers the cost of installation, operation and maintenance.
The company would pay council an annual permit fee of $475 per EV charging space. As all chargers require two spaces, the 27 new chargers would net council about $26,000 a year.
Who for: EVX CEO Andrew Forster said charger demand in North Sydney was mostly due to people living in terrace homes or apartments who can’t install chargers, but that some workers would also take advantage.
“We’ve got a few years of really good data now that show in these particular parts of areas adjacent to high density areas … we’re seeing a lot more demand than anticipated,” Forster said.
Prices at public EV charging stations are typically higher than at-home charging, due to fees paid to internet providers, the local council and the operator’s cut.
Where do they go: EVX initially proposed 39 locations, 12 of which council rejected. The remaining 27 will now go out for public consultation.
The locations are:
Cammeray
33 Anzac Avenue
8 Warringa Road
Cremorne
232 Ben Boyd Road
2 Hampden Avenue
9 Paling Street
68 Murdoch Street
5 Milson Road
Crows Nest
59 Ernest Street
61 Holtermann Street
McMahons Point
43 Blues Point Road
Mosman
124 Spencer Road
Neutral Bay
Opposite 84 Bent Street
32 Barry Street
3 Premier Street
7/2 Hayes Street
17 Montpelier Street
9 Watson Street
3 Lindsay Street
57 Wycombe Road
74 Wycombe Road
North Sydney
9 Toongarah Road
Opposite 10a Gillies Street
32 Clark Road
6 Waverton Avenue
Wollstonecraft
17 Morton Street
19 Gillies Street
4 Newlands Street