Electric dream a charging Nightmare

Electric vehicles are the future, right? And high-density housing, too? So how come the two don’t go hand-in-hand? Caroline Williams

Wanting to do better by the environment, Igor Anany bought his hybrid Mini Cooper in April, receiving a $5.5k rebate in the Government’s Clean Car Discount scheme.

‘‘I think it’s the future and I wanted to get to this future as fast as I can.’’

But the Hobsonville, Auckland resident did not anticipate his clean car would not mesh with another part of New Zealand’s future: housing intensification.

Anany’s property does not have off-street parking, and the car doesn’t fit inside his garage.

He had been parking up against his garage to charge the car, however this meant blocking part of the footpath, which drew ire from neighbours concerned for wheelchairs, prams and strollers.

Anany now parks between the road and the footpath and charges after 9pm by running an extension cord to the car, covering it with rubber mats so that no-one trips.

‘‘It is still an inconvenience for us. Obviously I don’t like putting the cable on the footpath [but] we can’t really charge it without crossing the footpath.’’

But running electrical cables across the footpath is not allowed under Auckland Transport’s Activities in the Road Corridor Bylaw as of May. ‘‘There are public safety issues with running the cable across the pavement, and if lots of people did so there would be problems,’’ a spokesperson said.

No-one has been fined for doing so yet – AT prefers not to go straight to ‘‘hard enforcement measures’’ – and only six instances had been reported.

Anany did not anticipate such a rigmarole when he bought the car and suspected the issue would make it harder for those in high-density housing to switch to EVs.

An AT policy is in the works to support transition from internal combustion engines to EVs, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ‘‘It’s a tricky one, so we are hopeful that this policy will help to address these sorts of issues – such as where people don’t have garages,’’ the spokesperson said.

EV specialist at GVI Electric Hayden Johnston said it was possible to run an EV without charging facilities at home. Owners would have to factor charging into their weekly movements by, for example, choosing to shop at a supermarket with a charger. ‘‘There’s plenty of public charging infrastructure around.’’

Johnston didn’t believe highdensity housing was a barrier for EV uptake now, but was concerned it could become an issue later on. ‘‘There will need to be solutions,’’ he said, adding

‘We need to build the infrastructure all at once. The two structures have to grow in parallel.’ IGOR ANANY

that one option could be on-street community chargers.

Anany hoped to install a charger on the grass berm outside his house. It is unlikely AT will approve.

‘‘Placing private EV charging equipment on, under or above public spaces such as the berm, footpath, vehicle crossing or the road is an ‘encroachment’ into public space and requires a licence from AT,’’ a spokesperson said.

‘‘AT will not approve the installation of private EV charging equipment in public spaces for the sole use of private individuals or private companies.’’

EV charging operators providing public services may apply for a licence to put chargers on public land if they meet yet-to-be developed criteria.

Anany believed houses should be built with EV charging facilities moving forward.

‘‘We need to build the infrastructure all at once. The two structures have to grow in parallel.’’

A spokesperson for Housing Minister Megan Woods said there are no requirements to provide EV chargers at homes in projects such as Hobsonville. ‘‘Large scale projects aim to reduce reliance on vehicles, which is why they are located in areas close to major destinations and transport hubs.’’

However, charging facilities could be added if required due to a change in Government policy.

In east Auckland, the government and council owned Ta¯ maki Regeneration Company already has guidelines requiring its state and affordable homes to be future-proofed with EV charging facilities or the wiring for it to be installed later on.

A spokesperson for Minister of Transport Michael Wood said most light vehicle users had access to off-street parking to charge their EVs at home.

But the charging needs of those in multi-unit dwellings, social housing and rental accommodation would be considered in the Government’s long-term EV charging infrastructure strategy to be developed with its Emissions Reduction Plan.

‘‘The Government is also working closely with industry, including established and prospective charge point providers, to encourage a robust EV charging market.’’