Australia’s electric vehicle story has a long way to go and part of that story is answering the challenge of charging options for those who don’t have off-street parking.
A new announcement today by Endeavour Energy helps those in Western Sydney with more than 230 EV charging stations to be installed by 2025. These will be located on existing Endeavour Energy streetside substations, in partnership with JOLT.
Endeavour Energy has around 2.6 million customers throughout NSW, and their partnership with JOLT will include the first 7kWh of charging for free at charging stations across Western Sydney.
I’ll debate the ‘fast’ branding on this announcement, with the chargers only capable of a 25 kW DC charging rate, tiny compared to the fastest 350kW available. They do however provide a good price breakdown of what EV owners can expect to pay depending on the level of charger they select.
- Level 1 Home Charging Stations usually cost about $0.15 -0.30 per kWh
- Level 2 Public Charging Stations usually charge about $0.20 – $0.25 per kWh
- Level 3 Public Charging Stations usually charge about $0.30 – $0.60 per kWh
The 230 committed to now is just the start, with the number expected to grow to more than 1,000 chargers over the next decade throughout the partnership.
Endeavour Energy’s Chief Customer and Strategy Officer, Leanne Pickering, said the first charging stations are expected to be operating by the end of this year.
Endeavour Energy forecasts that one in four of its customers will be driving an EV within the next 10 years.
By 2040 it’s predicted there will be around 1.3 million electric cars in the Endeavour Energy network which covers Sydney’s Greater West, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, the Illawarra, and NSW South Coast.
Providing free charging in more urban locations will allow more people into the EV market, especially those who don’t have off-street charging.
JOLT CEO, Doug McNamee, said he was excited to be expanding JOLT’s network across NSW with Endeavour Energy to help solve the key barriers to EV adoption such as access to charging, cost and range anxiety, at a time of growth in the area.
The decision to target Western Sydney is a strategic one, with the location nominated as a key growth corridor, particularly with the Western Sydney Airport on track to being operations in 2026.
Across the JOLT EV charging network, all-electric vehicle drivers will have access to 7kWh of free charging per day, providing around 40 to 50 km of range and a 15-minute charging time, depending on the type of vehicle.
You should be aware that there is a nominal fee to motivate you to move your vehicle once charged, it’ll cost you $5 for every 30 minutes that customers overstay.
One common issue raised by the anti-EV crowd is the source of energy. Thankfully the answer is easy here, JOLT’s chargers are powered by 100% GreenPower, fulfilling its commitment to powering Australia’s renewable energy transition.