Eurobodalla: Mayor Matthew Hatcher says more EV chargers coming as demand rises
As the demand for electric vehicle chargers swiftly rises on the state’s south coast, one Tesla-owning mayor is working to ‘future proof’ the area – particularly to cater for visiting Canberrans.
The South Coast News
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The rising popularity of electric vehicles (EV) has become a burden on south coast tourist hot spots which are struggling to keep up with intense charger demand.
The Eurobodalla Shire on the NSW south coast is an popular holiday destination for ACT residents, with 40 per cent of money spent in the region coming from Canberrans looking to get away.
With more than 10 per cent of new cars sold in Canberra being electric, the Eurobodalla area is seeing more EVs grace its roads – but a lack of public chargers is causing issues.
It’s a new found problem which hasn’t been lost on Eurobodalla, mayor, and Tesla owner, Matthew Hatcher.
“When people drive from Canberra to here, they find there can be a bit of a wait to charge their car,” he said.
Mr Hatcher said the recent summer holiday period saw visitors waiting “hours” to charge their cars.
“After waiting a while to charge your car, the actual charging part can also take a bit of time, depending if it’s a fast charger or not,” he said.
Transport for NSW states at Batemans Bay there are six public chargers, with a new one being installed at the shopping mall. In the Eurobodalla area as a whole, there are only 19 chargers.
Daniel Wilson, from Canberra, owns a Tesla Model Y and often visits Narooma for holidays.
However for Mr Wilson, his recent trips in his EV have been “difficult” due to the small town only having one charger.
“Teslas are becoming so popular, I can’t understand how a town can only have one public charger,” he said. “It’s fair to say that, people who have Teslas who live in Narooma would probably have chargers installed at home, but for visitors like me, it can be a bit annoying.”
Mr Wilson said he waited two hours to charge his car in the town after arriving.
“You get to these places to relax, so to then have to wait that long to just to charge your car is pretty annoying,” he said.
On Thursday, Eurobodalla Council closed community submissions on a draft strategy which proposes to double the amount of public fast chargers in the area by 2027.
It’s a plan which Mr Hatcher said was needed, given the amount of Canberrans who travel to the town in an EV.
The ACT currently has the highest intake of EVs in the country and is expected to have 42,000 on the road by 2030. In NSW, four per cent of new cars sold are electric.
“Electric cars are getting cheaper and more accessible and there is a future where they are going to be the norm,” Mr Hatcher said.
“I love mine, I would never go back to a petrol car. We need to start future proofing our towns to prepare for this EV future and we’re working hard to do just that.”
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