Wollongong gets 5 pole-mounted 22kW EV chargers, Victoria coming too

The NSW city of Wollongong has launched five new roadside EV charging locations to service owners who can't easily access charging at home.

The new chargers, located at George Street, Victoria Street, Cliff Road, the Austinmer Tennis Courts and Railway Parade in Thirroul, are dual-22kW units that can be accessed with an RFID card or through an app on the user's phone.

The units use a 'BYO' approach, requiring EV owners to use the cable supplied with their vehicle. For the service provider, NSW-based EVX, this means less replacement of damaged or vandalised cables, and a wider capacity for serving different charging port types.

EVX says that by using AC power, its chargers "have a low impact on the local electricity grid while they can also be installed on the existing utility pole infrastructure, negating the need for disruptive civil works and ensuring a speedy rollout".

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The new chargers were installed in partnership with Endeavour Energy.

"By repurposing existing infrastructure and using the electricity network’s capacity for additional services, we can exert downward pressure on electricity prices for all customers," Endeavour Energy's Colin Crisafulli said.

"Our projections indicate that by 2030, there will be over 300,000 electric vehicles within the Endeavour Energy network, and we are committed to ensuring that all our customers can actively participate in and lead this significant energy transition."

Wollongong's new charger launch follows the rollout of an identical Ausigrid-powered EVX charger in Glebe, launched in March.

How much does it cost?

Convenience has a price.

At $0.50 per kWh, the EVX chargers compare poorly against faster DC chargers. For reference, an ultra-rapid Chargefox, Ampol or Evie location costs $0.60/kWh, and a Tesla Supercharger $0.52/kWh. The average cost per kWh in NSW is $0.28.

it's still a good deal more affordable than petrol – and in the case of the Glebe location, it's cheaper than the parking you won't be paying for while using the charger. Just barely.

As John Law noted in his March story, an hour of charging an EV that accepts current at 7kW will cost you $3.50, whereas 60 minutes of metered parking costs $3.90.

Victoria coming too

Victoria is getting in on the pole-mounted action too.

In August, he former Andrews Government (although still a Labor government under his successor Jacinta Allan) announced funding for 100 roadside chargers [↗] to be installed by Intellihub Assets.

It's a slow mover, however, with the wealthy inner-Melbourne cities of Port Phillip [↗] and Stonnington [↗] still surveying their communities ahead of works to begin at a "TBC" date in 2024.