Hundreds of new free electric car chargers coming to NSW

Charging network Jolt has partnered with power company Endeavour Energy to install 230 free electric car charging points along the sides of NSW roads by 2025.

More than 230 electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be rolled out across New South Wales by 2025, for a total of more than 1000 within 10 years, as part of a new partnership announced today.

Electric car charging network Jolt will install charging points at roadside substations owned by electricity company Endeavour Energy, which services Sydney’s Greater West, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, the Illawarra, and NSW South Coast.

The first of the charging stations will come online by the end of this year, before expanding to more than 230 locations by 2025, and “more than 1000 chargers over the next decade”.

As with all Jolt EV chargers, drivers will have access to 7kWh of free energy per day (measured in 24-hour periods). For a rear-wheel-drive Tesla Model 3, Australia’s top-selling EV, that equates to about a 12 per cent charge, or 55km of theoretical range.

While Jolt’s chargers support DC ‘fast’ charging, they can only do so at up to 25kW, meaning the circa-50km of added range will take approximately 15 minutes, the company says.

Should drivers want more energy than the free 7kWh daily allowance, Jolt’s standard rates are $0.40 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) – identical to what Australia’s largest non-Tesla EV network, Chargefox, asks for 50kW charging, and less than the $0.60/kWh it charges for 350kW ultra-rapid stations.

Jolt has previously announced a partnership with power giant Ausgrid for a similar network of kerbside electric car chargers, one of which opened in Sydney’s Mona Vale last year.

The EV charging company received $100 million in funding last year to build 5000 new chargers across Australia – all of which, like the Endeavour Energy points, will be free for the first 7kWh of energy consumed.

Endeavour Energy forecasts one in four of its customers will be driving an electric car within 10 years, ahead of 1.3 million EVs within the bounds of its network by 2040.

“We’re thrilled to be expanding our footprint to the wider Sydney area and provide free, fast charging to more EV drivers through our partnership with Endeavour Energy,” said Jolt CEO Doug McNamee.

“Our communities want greater accessibility and more EV chargers to be able to charge on the go. In the last two years alone, the Jolt network has given out over 162,000 free kilometres to EV drivers across Australia. We’re delighted to begin stage one of our plans with Endeavour Energy to help electrify the future of transportation.”

Chief Customer and Strategy Officer at Endeavour Energy, Leanne Pickering, added: “In a world where we are ‘electrifying everything’, our customers are depending on us to support their daily life – for commuting, working remotely, for education and entertainment.

“The partnership with Jolt harnesses the exciting momentum around EVs as people see the benefits of contribution to the environment through reducing carbon emissions and cleaner air.”

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