Wellington adds 28 EV chargers

Wellington has now got 28 EV charging stations installed across the capital’s suburbs.

They are part of a two-year pilot between the Wellington City Council (WCC), Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and ChargeNet NZ to assess the viability for slow charging in Wellington’s residential streets.

The EV chargers are a key part of the programme to reduce Wellington’s carbon emissions by half over the next 10 years, WCC climate change portfolio lead Tamatha Paul says.

“Vehicle travel makes up 35% of Wellington’s gross emissions. Electric vehicles emit 80% less carbon dioxide than equivalent fuel powered cars,” she says.

The success of the pilot programme will depend on sufficient usage of the charging stations now running, which will mean more installations in the future, the council suggests.

“If you’re thinking about buying a new vehicle, replacing fuel-powered cars with electric ones will go a long way towards reducing our emissions as a city, and is a practical thing people can do to protect our environment,” Paul adds.

Areas with few on-street parking spaces have been prioritised in the programme to encourage residents to replace their fuel powered vehicles with electric.

“EVs can be charged easily at home using a three-pin plug, but for residents with no off-street parking this isn’t so easy,” WCC sustainability manager Tom Pettit says.

He says the council was the first to introduce the initiative in 2018, and has had good uptake in areas where the chargers are installed.

“This project is based on an international model in world-leading EV friendly cities, and is just one component the council has in place to support the city’s contribution to reducing the impacts of climate change and reach our goal of a low carbon capital city.”

Inner city resident Josh Wright recently bought his first EV following the installation of a charger on Austin Street, Mount Victoria.

“These chargers are a game changer for people like me who are keen to make the change, but who have no off-street parking,” he says.

Each EV charging unit can charge two cars at the same time and the adjacent parks will be reserved for EVs only.

Chargers require a Type 2 cable and charge at 7.4kW (about four times faster than a typical three-pin domestic power socket). Users will need to register with ChargeNet NZ

to open an account.

Users pay for the electricity they consume and will receive a text message encouraging them to move on when the charging is complete, to free up the space for others.

The council says it’s important an EV is off the road when charging at home, as cables aren’t allowed to cross the footpath, mainly considered a potential pedestrian hazard.

Click for Wellington EV charging locations.