My mate charges his EV at my place. Should I charge him?

When my friend comes to visit, he wants to charge his electric car at my house using my electricity. Is that OK? A.M., Bowral, NSW

Credit: Illustration by Simon Letch

I know nothing about charging electric cars, but I do know about charging electric phones and any time a friend asks if they can charge their phone in my house, I always say, “Of course! No problem! You don’t even need to ask!” But in my head, a little bit of me is thinking, “Tight-arse. That’s 0.000453 bucks’ worth of electricity I’m paying for. Not to mention the wear and tear on my charging cable. That was some unnecessarily aggressive cable-handling, you clumsy bastard!”

And you may be feeling the same way about your friend, probably even more so: electric cars would use way more electricity than phones because they’re much bigger (apart from the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is about the same size). But once you start getting into visiting-friend accountancy, where does it stop? How can you enjoy a friend dropping round if you’re too busy mentally calculating their water usage for each toilet flush? Assessing detergent expenses for their soiled crockery items? Counting the calories you expended when you plumped the flattened sofa cushions where they’d sat, which then forced you to replenish your weary, cushion-plumping arms by eating a $12 tub of Heavenly Caramel Triple-Ripple Ice-Cream? And yes, I’m aware that charging an electric car might be costly, but if he doesn’t charge his car, he may not be able to drive home, which means he’ll have to live with you indefinitely, rent-free, using your electricity, crockery, toilet and cushions. You don’t really have a choice: give him enough electric charge to get home and make sure he’s gentle with your extension cord. You don’t want any cord-uncoiling wear and tear; the depreciation is brutal.

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