Kerbside charging
We're collaborating with industry providers to install kerbside electric vehicle chargers across our network.
Electric vehicle charging at kerbside
The NSW Government estimates that about 38,000 public EV charging ports will be needed in the state by 2030.

Ausgrid is partnering with industry, government, and regulators to trial new ways to provide more localised kerbside electric vehicle (EV) charging, utilising our existing kiosks and power poles.

We estimate that approximately 800,000 customers in our network area have limited opportunities to charge their vehicles at home. This could be due to a lack of off-street parking, high costs, rental agreements, or strata restrictions. All of these factors highlight the importance of public EV charging solutions like kerbside charging in supporting the transition to the electrification of transport.

Leveraging existing assets for a faster, fairer and more seamless solution

Ausgrid has over 440,000 power poles across its network. To create accessible charging access, we estimate that 11,000 kerbside chargers are needed in our network. Pole and substation mounted EV systems avoid the need to dig up the road, helping to deliver public EV charging faster, at lower cost, with less disruption to the community and less clutter on the footpath.

This innovative approach can really support our community by providing access to EV charging infrastructure in residential areas.

How do they work?

People wishing to use a charger pull up and connect directly to the charger using their own Type 2 charging cable. Payments are made via an app or RFID token.

As these chargers are slower AC chargers from 7 up to 22kW they are suitable for longer charging intervals or overnight charging.

In the longer term we’re working on solutions that make payment even more seamless. For example, like residential energy bills, this would be automatic and your car’s use would be billed for its use depending on where, and for how long, it was plugged in.

Ausgrid would like to partner with government, regulators, the community, and industry with the goal of making this vision a reality, and dependant on regulatory reform. Find out more about partnership opportunities.

EVCI Community Survey

Understanding consumer sentiment towards electric vehicle uptake if there were more public chargers.

Of the 704 online respondents (representing 99% statistical significance), 68% of respondents said increased availability of public EV charging in their neighbourhood would make them more likely to buy an EV in the future, highlighting charger availability as a critical driver of adoption.

The 68% of respondents breaks down as follows:

72%
of Metro Sydney residents
are more likely to base their decision to adopt EVs on availability of public charging than regional participants (56%) highlighting that limited private parking in metro areas makes public chargers essential.
79%
of flat/apartment dwellers
are also more likely to base their decision to adopt EVs on the availability of public charging those in houses (63%) and semi-detached homes (67%).
68%
of renters
also said availability of charging would influence their decision to adopt an EV, indicating a significant opportunity to install chargers in/near rental and multi-unit dwellings.
92%
of plug-in hybrid owners
say they would be more likely to buy an EV in future if there was more public charging.
61%
of older demographics (55+)
are less likely to say their next car will be an EV, and less likely to be influenced by availability of charging infrastructure, than other age groups.
Outside of public charging, other top criteria which people said would influence their future EV adoption choices were key to cost of living elements - government subsidies for EV purchases (73%) and cost of petrol/diesel (62%)
"This would change the future of driving. It's also necessary that all kerbside charging equipment are well maintained and prevented from vandalisation."
"Reliable, accessible kerbside EV chargers would make owning another EV more practical for me, especially since I don't have off-street parking. A fair roll-out would strongly influence my decision to switch."