EV charging infrastructure across Australia is improving with several rollouts underway. But prices are also rising.
One proposed big charging hub Ā in South Australia’s Barossa Valley is asking 90c/kWh for charging during the day, while another trial “smart charging” site at Port Adelaide is asking for $1.20/kWh in the evening and morning peaks, and just 12c/kWh during the day.
The first site – known as Engie – Rocland Estate – is currently shown on the Chargefox app with pricing of 90 c/kWh for most of the day, between the times of 7 am and 9 pm. At other times the pricing drops to 60 c/kWh.
This site – located at a winery – offers charging speeds of 75 kW, and will be fittedĀ with 10 bays and was highlighted by, Ben Stevens, one of The Drivenās readers on Twitter.
Check the pricing @LudicrousFeed @BridieEV @TheDriven_io .
Itās going to be a 10 bay site. pic.twitter.com/PbXw80ZMMJ— Ben Stevens (@1_bstevens) June 25, 2023
EV drivers had mixed responses on the back of this elevated pricing. āI’ll put that on my list of chargers to avoid at all costs,ā one said.
This sentiment was shared by other EV drivers too. āThatās one way to keep the bays clear. Itāll guarantee people only charge what they need to get to the next charging location,ā said another.
Some found the pricing humorous given the price at this charger well exceeds what Tesla owners pay at superchargers across the nation, which ranges from 45c/kWh to up to 69c/kWh, depending on time and location.
āImagine the bill shock that Tesla owners will get when they charge there because they think it’s cheaper than Tesla Superchargers š¤£ā, they said, in reference to a growing habit of some Tesla drivers seeking cheaper charging away from their own private network.
But Chargefox has revealed even higher prices – though narrowed to certain times of the day – at another “smart charging” site it is trialling at Port Adelaide Plaza.
At this charger, rated at up to 124kW, it is proposing a huge range in prices, from just 12c/kWh during the day – a time zone it dubs “renewables” thanks to the state’s massive amounts of rooftop solar – to 1.20/kWh in the morning peak between 5am and 9am and in the evening peak from 4pm to 10pm. Night time charging will cost 30c/kWh.
Pricing of chargers has been going up in recent years as energy prices go up, and vary according to charging speeds, but there are many more options for fast charging today than there were even six months ago.
The latest data from carloop reveals 93 EV fast-charging sites have been commissioned in the first six months of this year and the rollout is pacing ahead.
Just down the road from the charging site in the Barossa Valley is RAAās new DC fast charging site with Kempower fast chargers. It has a price range of 68 c/kWh from 5 pm – 10 pm. At all other times, itās priced at 59 c/kWh.
These chargers are rated at 150 kW which is twice the indicated speed of the 75 kW at Rocland Estate. This site is also located 4 minutes away at Barossa Central shopping centre and offers twin-CCS port charging.
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RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.