RAC ends support for “electric highway,” hands responsibility for EV chargers to local councils

The Royal Automobile Club of WA motoring group quietly announced withdrawn its involvement and support for the much ballyhooed Electric Highway, its decade-long electric vehicle (EV) charging program, and handed much of the responsibility to local councils.

The move has raised concerns among EV drivers, who fear the decision could results in some crucial EV fast chargers on country roads going off-line because of a lack of support. One EV charging station is already broken, and the first that most EV drivers knew about the move was the removal of RAC signage.

The RAC Electric Highway was launched as a first-of-its-kind demonstration project in 2015, and consisted of 12 EV fast charging stations that connected Perth to Augusta – eventually growing to include 16 charging locations between Monkey Mia and Esperance.

The “electric highway” was co-funded by RAC WA with charging technology supplied by local firm E-Station and was designed to encompass a range of popular tourist spots around the region.

However, according to RAC WA, even though the Electric Highway “had been an important catalyst for investment” the charging program is now concluded.

“RAC launched the Electric Highway as a platform to open WA up to new transport options and help eliminate the issue of range anxiety among EV owners – we also wanted to demonstrate the demand and kickstart broader investment,” said Terry Durant, RAC Group executive for social and community impact in a statement published on its website.

“The RAC Electric Highway has achieved what it set out to, and we are incredibly proud to have operated this successful demonstration project for the past decade.

“In recent years we’ve seen EV ownership growing alongside increased investment from governments, including via the WA Government’s Electric Vehicle Strategy.

“When the RAC Electric Highway first launched, there were less than 80 electric vehicles on WA roads. There are now more than 25,000, with access to more than 150 charging stations across the state.”

The announcement was little noticed, however, and some EV drivers have been caught unawares, arriving at EV charging stations to find all RAC signage removed and some offline.

The  EV charger in Bridgetown in the South West region of Western Australia was taken offline at the beginning of July and removed from the Chargefox network. As a result, drivers must now travel an extra 30 kilometres away to Manjimup to access the WA EV Network.

RAC WA has handed responsibility for some of the Electric Highway to local councils who will continue to operate the charging stations, and which will continue to operate on the Chargefox network. RAC will continue to manage the EV charging stations at its head office in West Perth, and at selected RAC Parks and Resorts, and RAC Auto Service Centres.

Public updates have also been made on Plugshare, with the chargers in Margaret River and Augusta now managed by the Shire of Augusta Margaret River; in Bunbury by the City of Bunbury; in Donnybrook by the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup; in Busselton by the City of Busselton; in Harvey by the Shire of Harvey; and in Mandurah by the City of Mandurah.

The charging station in Bridgetown is rumoured to be replaced by a new 350kw charger by the end of the year, complete with solar and batteries, according to one Plug Share user.

The Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes confirmed to The Driven its plans to install a new fast charger at the site. Another charging station in the town of Dunsborough has also been closed and is no longer running.

The Driven has reached out to RAC WA for more comment on why they have handed over responsibility for its charging stations, and specific information on how the charging stations will be handled moving forward. We will update this article with any comment as appropriate.

For more information on which chargers are working at the moment, RAC WA has updated its RAC Electric Highway page on its website.