ChargeNet NZ and Aurora Energy partner up

The electric vehicle (EV) charging network will be extended in Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes under a new partnership between ChargeNet New Zealand and Aurora Energy.

As part of the agreement, the organisations will work together to upgrade the existing charger in Filleul St, Dunedin, to a Tritium charger supplied by ChargeNet. Other sites around the Dunedin CBD are also being considered for new installations.

ChargeNet New Zealand continues to grow its nationwide charging network and this partnership will enable faster growth in the southern region.

“The Otago region is one of the most active regions in the country in terms of embracing electric vehicles, and we are keen to support electric vehicle owners through this partnership,” ChargeNet NZ chief operating officer Nick Smith says.

“Extending the Dunedin and surrounding offerings is an important step in bolstering our ever-growing nationwide network of fast chargers and will be a game changer for both local and visiting electric vehicle owners.”

“The sites will complement the existing infrastructure in the Aurora Energy network, including Wanaka and Alexandra, and other installations underway in Queenstown and Roxburgh.”

Smith says most EVs take six to eight hours to charge via a domestic power point, so one of the challenges has been charging them away from home. But the fast charge network the partnership plans will allow EVs to charge in less than 25 minutes, he says.

This partnership will give vehicle owners in Dunedin and the wider Otago region greater confidence to make the move to driving electric, Aurora Energy chief executive Grady Cameron says.

“Since Aurora Energy installed the South Island’s first public fast charging station in February 2016, the number of EVs in Otago has increased from 50 to 225. Nationwide, the growth in EVs has been exponential with 5400 now registered in New Zealand, up from just 500 three years ago,” Cameron says.

Aurora Energy is New Zealand’s seventh largest electricity network by customer connections, supplying electricity to more than 88,000 homes, farms and businesses in Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes.

It’s a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dunedin City Holdings Limited, owned by the Dunedin City Council.