NECA Statement on EV Charger Funding

NECA has welcomed the NSW Government’s $100m funding packaging to support the rollout of EV charging and urged proper guardrails to be in place to ensure the investment is not wasted.

Mark Stedfut, Executive Director of the National Electrical and Communications Association, said: 

“If implemented in the right way, it will be an excellent initiative that will support the rollout of this critical infrastructure. The current fuel crisis shows the importance of getting more EVs on the road and ensuring the public has the confidence they can charge them when and where they choose. 

“That means putting high quality, fast chargers where they are needed and making them accessible to EV users through dedicated parking spaces.

“A thriving competitive market has emerged in rolling out public EV chargers across most regional and metropolitan areas. Australian SMEs are leading the charge, creating jobs, driving innovation to reduce costs and installing high-quality chargers in partnership with local government and communities. However, this model is now under threat.

“We note the current campaign by monopoly electricity networks to break into this market based on a false narrative that there is a market failure. The main barrier faced by open market charging providers is the networks themselves. Involving both anti-competitive behaviour and inefficient execution of their primary functions with respect to the charge point operations.

“To install a charger, commercial operators require access to the networks’ poles and wires, which is being restricted by some network operators.

That’s why this funding should be made available to legitimate providers and if networks’ subsidiary businesses are to be eligible, then the networks must provide the following information to all commercial operators:

o    Granular, street-level LV hosting capacity maps

o    Clear, standardised connection processes and Facilities Access Agreements (FAAs)

o    Pole condition information

Standardised connection costs