29 December 2023

Roadblocks to disability-accessible EV chargers and kerbside options outlined in government response

| Claire Fenwicke
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group of parked electric vehicles in Canberra

The inquiry considered how to encourage more electric vehicles (like the ones pictured) to be used on the streets of Canberra. Photo: James Coleman.

The government has refused to add e-bikes and e-cargo bikes to the Sustainable Household Scheme, even though zero-emissions motorbikes have been added.

However, the door could still be open for the option as the scheme continues to evaluate products that are applicable for inclusion.

That’s formed part of the ACT Government’s response to the 30 recommendations made by the committee inquiry into electric vehicle adoption for the Territory.

Most were either agreed to or agreed in principle, which means work is already underway in those spaces.

One major issue was around chargers, be they in apartment buildings, equally spread across Canberra, publicly accessible and accessible for people with disabilities.

In the response, Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury said work was already happening to ensure chargers weren’t installed only in certain parts of the capital.

Conversations are also being had with Tesla to include a charging location in Canberra as part of its pilot program extending the supercharger network to non-Tesla vehicles.

“Tesla has already made some of their public charging network available to non-Tesla vehicles and ACT Government will continue to encourage Tesla to open up its network both in the ACT and nationally,” Mr Rattenbury said.

READ ALSO Firies issue warning on dangers of lithium-ion batteries one year on from Mugga Lane inferno

Kerbside chargers in areas where off-street parking isn’t allocated for each residence is also being investigated, but complexities have already been identified.

“[They are] not suitable for a range of settings in the ACT due to issues such as the lack of available street side electricity poles,” Mr Rattenbury noted.

As for apartment buildings, the government launched the Residential Strata EV Ready Pilot Study to explore options, challenge and costs of retrofitting EV charging infrastructure to existing multi-unit developments.

The pilot does not fund the installation of chargers, but rather the underlying infrastructure to make the building ready to accommodate one charger per unit.

It’s expected further work in this area will be delivered with the ACT’s Zero Emissions Vehicles Strategy 2022-30.

A review of the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 is also under consideration to allow body corporates to manage EV-related matters, such as the installation of charging infrastructure.

Disability-accessible public charging facilities has proved to be a challenge, as while the ACT’s Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Operational Policy requires the installation of EV infrastructure on government land and parking spaces to show disabled access has been considered, it can’t always be accommodated.

“Site constraints in existing car parks will restrict the ability to provide accessible charging bays in many locations,” Mr Rattenbury noted.

“In addition, Australia does not currently have a standard that outlines the design of an accessible EV charging station [and] the use of existing disabled parking bays is governed by legislation that won’t allow for any disabled parking bays to be limited to EV drivers with disability.”

Another area of work will be around considering whether more hydrogen refuelling needs to be provided in the ACT or surrounding regions.

This is because lack of infrastructure can act as a barrier to greater EV uptake in private and freight vehicles.

“The ACT Government continues to explore opportunities to enable the transition of transport to zero emissions vehicles, including supporting the deployment of hydrogen refuelling to enable in particular heavy vehicle transition,” Mr Rattenbury said.

READ ALSO Cyclist hit by car at Canberra Avenue intersection days after it’s listed as ‘unsafe’

Only two recommendations were flat out rejected by the government.

One was the recommendation the government undertake a cost-benefit analysis to show property owners that adding EV charging infrastructure to their homes resulted in an increase of property value, relative to the initial cost of installing it.

Mr Rattenbury said this wasn’t necessary.

“Significant evidence gathered internationally already confirms that property value increases once EV charging infrastructure is installed. There is little value in the ACT replicating this work,” he said.

“However, the government will consider how the existing evidence may be utilised in the ACT to educate and encourage installation of infrastructure.”

The other was for the government to publish a statement on how inequalities identified in a risk assessment for any future transitions in this space would be addressed in policy and programs.

Mr Rattenbury said this was part of normal policy and program development, and the publishing of such a statement could “misinform” the public given it would be fixed in time as other aspects evolve.

“Government will seek to identify potential inequality in policies and programs at inception and seek to put measures in place to observe and address inequalities that may result,” he said.

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I see ACT government are still pushing the EV scam.

A Nonny Mouse4:11 pm 29 Dec 23

If there is any ‘scam’, it’s the anti-EV FUD put out by fossil fuel industry and repeated by naive dupes (for free!) that convinces some people that they are better off paying three times as much for ‘fuel’.

Capital Retro10:47 am 29 Dec 23

I have a friend who lives near Luton and he said the narrative was that it wasn’t an EV but further investigation revealed it was one of these that ignited first:

https://media.landrover.com/news/2020/07/new-48v-mild-hybrid-diesel-joins-plug-electric-range-rover

There were a few EVs destroyed in a fire at Sydney airport not long ago, too.

That article suggests we should ban petrol and diesel from strata carparks? I think there’s also been an issue with poor quality grey import bike chargers catching fire.

The jury might be out on the fire risk, but thermal runaway lithium battery fire burns at more than 2000 Celsius – enough to damage steel and concrete, such as an underground/basement carpark. An ICE fire can be put out with much less equipment, water or CO2 extinguishers

GrumpyGrandpa2:53 pm 29 Dec 23

From everything I’ve read, the risk of an EV fire is lower than an ICE, but the consequences of an EV fire are astronomically higher.

The recent “Cement Australia” EV truck fire is an example. Notwithstanding that it closed a major bridge until the battery had completed it thermal meltdown, it poured toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Imagine the consequences of an EV fire in a confined space like an apartment block parking basement!

Gotta worry about those apartments built over the top of carparks if EV chargers go in. It’s enough worry that people in units below or next to you might charge their scooters etc in their apartment and cause a fire.

What about protocols for EV fires ? What happens when several EV’s catch fire in an underground car park damaging foundations & releasing toxic fumes.
It’s the blind leading the blind.

Capital Retro10:49 am 29 Dec 23

The toxic fumes that are deposited inside the building will necessitate the building being demolished.

Mr Fluffy 2.0 here it comes

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