Aussie council’s big change to power poles amid electric vehicle wave

The electric vehicle revolution is well underway in Australia whether you like it or not, and councils across the country are doing their bit to accomodate the increasing number of EVs such as Teslas and BYDs that are increasingly populating our roads.

With a big push to keep up with charging demand, Northern Beaches Council in Sydney has given the green light to a trial that will see seven new charging stations attached to power poles across several suburbs. The LGA has the state’s highest uptake of electric vehicles in NSW and Mayor Sue Heins says she hopes the stations will convince even more people to go electric.

“This wonderful initiative is making EV charging more accessible for people living in apartments, townhouses or units with no onsite EV charging options,” she said.

While some Australians are resistant to the shift to electric vehicles, Chinese EV powerhouse BYD’s self-aggrandising prediction that it will be the biggest car manufacturer in Australia by 2030 clearly shows the direction the country is moving in.

Australia well aware of need to ramp up charging options

Bernhard Conoplia, Head of Public Charging at Evie, revealed they have doubled their number of charging locations in the past 12 months as the industry looks to quash claims it simply cannot keep up with demand.

“We need to keep deploying at pace as we’re at the very start of this journey,” he told Yahoo News Australia. “There’s just under 200,000 EVs on the road. It’s an exciting time and I think we’re all aware of the need to keep on rolling out infrastructure at pace.”

And that’s a message Northern Beaches Council has reiterated. “We will continue to work with industry partners to make sure there are enough local charging stations to keep pace with demand,” it said while announcing the power pole charging sites.

Council said the sites had been chosen taking into consideration parking concerns of residents in built-up areas. Such an issue has arisen for the City of Sydney Council, with complaints over electric vehicle only parking spaces.

The introduction of kerbside charging will likely see a reduction in EV owners having to find creative ways to charge their vehicles while at home. Just last week, a Tesla driver was spotted charging their vehicle while illegally parked on the footpath, with a cable placed over their driveway fence.

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