Victoria networks want to be first to own and install EV kerbside chargers on their power poles

Victorian power distributors say they want to be among the first in the world to own and operate kerbside electric vehicle chargers that would be installed on their network of power poles.

The idea of kerbside charging is not new, with Ausgrid running a program in New South Wales to help boost public charging infrastructure, and some long dwell public charges have been installed by private companies.

But the proposal by Victorian energy distributors CitiPower, Powercor and United Energy will be the first where the networks own the pole-mounted chargers directly.

Under the trial, the distributors would install, own and maintain the physical charging infrastructure at 100 locations across Victoria during the period of the trial to begin next year.

Of these, 80 sites have already been chosen across Melbourne’s inner and south-eastern suburbs, the Mornington Peninsula and Western Victoria to service areas where there are high numbers of registered EV drivers. Another 20 will be installed at locations as directed by local councils and other authorities.

Each site will also be chosen in areas where there is good lighting and visibility to help ensure the safety of customers, with the 22kw, single and dual-port chargers installed one metre above the ground on a power pole.

A third-party charging company will be contracted to lease the infrastructure and handle interactions with customers.

To go ahead, the companies must first apply for a waiver with the Australian Energy Regulator to allow them to install the chargers on the polls.

Dan Bye, Head of New Energy Services said the decision to pursue the trial was made after consultation with the energy distributors’ customer base carried out through a series of town hall meetings, workshops, and surveys.

“It was very, very clear during those conversations that they want us playing a more active role in the transition to a cleaner energy grid,” Bye said. “But they didn’t want the overall customer base to fund these activities, they wanted a user-pays approach, and that’s the path we’re going down.”

Victoria is currently working towards a target of having half of all new car sales to be zero emissions by 2035 as part of broader efforts to address climate change and already the number of electric vehicle drivers in the state has increased.

The distributors identified 7,366 registered EV drivers in several postcodes they analysed, and heard during feedback that a lack of public infrastructure was forcing customers to sometimes take matters into their own hands.

“Were talking about people running extension cords from their private property into trees and on the footpaths to plug in their cars, which obviously is a danger to our customers and the public,” he said. “In some cases it was even laneways.”

With the distributors operating more than 805,000 combined across the state, and over 750 field repair crews stationed throughout the state, Bye said the companies believed they were positioned to help accelerate the roll out of this infrastructure – but didn’t want to get into the charging business themselves.

“We see ourselves as an infrastructure business – that’s our bread and butter. That’s our game,” he said. “We want to work on infrastructure and leave the charging to the charge-point operators to do what is their bread and butter.”

“We want to make this stuff really, really accessible. I think, as an essential service, we have the teams and assets in place to install and maintain a reliable and safe fleet of chargers for our drivers so we’re excited for this trial and for what it can deliver.”