Rotorua’s first fast charging station in demand

Four weeks after its launch, electric vehicle (EV) owners are making the most of Rotorua’s first public fast-charging station.

The Unison charger has already been used 102 times and delivered enough energy for a 5,500km drive, which is equivalent to driving right around New Zealand’s North Island and South Island.

The charging station is free to use until end January 2017, and will then cost 40c a minute. The result will be a typical charge for 20 to 30 minutes costing $8 to $12.

EV owner and visitor to Rotorua Steve Withers recently used the charger on his 524km trip from Auckland to Rotorua and back.

“I bought my first EV, a Nissan Leaf, about four months ago. I bought it because I wanted to reduce my carbon footprint and do my bit for climate change. I love it,” he says.

He explains that the charger is an important power bridge between Hamilton, Tauranga and Thames and cities further south, allowing EV drivers to travel faster around this part of New Zealand than they could before.

“Making the mental transition from petrol car habits to electric car habits has been fascinating and challenging. But once you have your head around the specifics of driving an EV, like charging, it’s not a problem – particularly with rapid charge stations like this becoming more widespread,” says Withers.

Unison Group chief executive Ken Sutherland says the company is really pleased with the uptake. “It’s our role to provide efficient network solutions for our customers and installing fast charging stations in our network regions is part of that solution.”

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