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NRMA fast charging network
- Thread starter baillies
- Start date
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- Tags
- Australia New Zealand
RareEarth
Member
Hay and Mildura have popped up on the map. They are 300km apart so hopefully Balranald will also appear.
rohan_aus
Member
This is a first for NRMA, they've teamed up with Chargefox to install two 350kw DC fast chargers and two 50kw DC fast chargers next to the Tesla superchargers in Gundagai (image curtesy of Craig from TOCA FB group).
Chuq
Active Member
Chuq
Active Member
Hay opened yesterday:
PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
Also from listening to NRMA presentations at the EV Expo (and chatting to NRMA staff there), I learned that:
- Hay will open shortly (they were right about that!), followed by Mildura then Port Macquarie;
- The NRMA co-branded Chargefox ultra-rapid sites are separate and do not count towards their 40 locations;
- Their intention is to cover 97% of journeys within the state - when I mentioned routes to Broken Hill, to Bourke, etc. they were tight lipped but didn't say no.
- Free charging for non members would be ending soon; for members, they would be able to identify themselves as members through a phone app. Rate for non-members not mentioned.
- There is potential for reciprocal arrangements with other state motoring bodies like RACQ, RACT etc. no promises.
PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
Also from listening to NRMA presentations at the EV Expo (and chatting to NRMA staff there), I learned that:
- Hay will open shortly (they were right about that!), followed by Mildura then Port Macquarie;
- The NRMA co-branded Chargefox ultra-rapid sites are separate and do not count towards their 40 locations;
- Their intention is to cover 97% of journeys within the state - when I mentioned routes to Broken Hill, to Bourke, etc. they were tight lipped but didn't say no.
- Free charging for non members would be ending soon; for members, they would be able to identify themselves as members through a phone app. Rate for non-members not mentioned.
- There is potential for reciprocal arrangements with other state motoring bodies like RACQ, RACT etc. no promises.
Grenadine
Member
Wifi costs money to maintain and provide as does electricity. As does supercharging except that you presumably have not already spent 10s to hundreds of thousands of dollars to the establishment providing the charging. No offense, but I do not understand at all the objection to paying to charge.
Grenadine
Member
Mildura opening will be awesome. Can get to Broken Hill reliably. Amazing!
They need something at Balranald. Hay to Mildura might be a bit of a stretch for some cars. (I've done Syd to Adelaide that way a few times, but not in an EV yet.. they also need something on the SA side around Murray Bridge, Berri or thereabouts)
Chuq
Active Member
I expect Balranald is in the plans – it’s a very obvious location given the rest of the sites. I guess they haven’t locked it down yet.
Berri is happening! There was a section in one of their council meetings recently… and Evie will have fast chargers in Tailem Bend and the Adelaide Hills somewhere.
Chargers at Moe almost ready, they are located at Old Gippstown which is on the Western end of Moe about 200m off the Princes Freeway East bound (also accessible for West bound traffic)
Looks like 2 different sorts of chargers so not sure if they have different rates, photo was from a few days ago, looks like it just needed the carpark sealing work to be finished.
One issue maybe that they have a big car show here on Fathers day and fence of this area for the show, I'm not sure how they will cope with people wanting to charge at that time.
The chargers look like Tritium brand not the Chargefox that are also rumored for Moe.
Looks like 2 different sorts of chargers so not sure if they have different rates, photo was from a few days ago, looks like it just needed the carpark sealing work to be finished.
One issue maybe that they have a big car show here on Fathers day and fence of this area for the show, I'm not sure how they will cope with people wanting to charge at that time.
The chargers look like Tritium brand not the Chargefox that are also rumored for Moe.
Grenadine
Member
These are being installed by the folks at Gippsland solar in Traralgon, whic are great supporters of EVs - they even have two destination chargers at their shop
Chuq
Active Member
Grenadine
Member
I went to the charger at Narrandera (NSW) yesterday and it was a complete balls up. The charger did not work and, because there is only one, the alternative was to go hunting for power. No one at NRMA could help reboot it or had a clue how to fix it. Installing one charger per location is a very bad move in my view. No redundancy is just dumb on what is an important piece of infrastructure.
Don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate NRMA doing it but I would much much rather have redundancy and pay for the juice than just one charger which goes down in a remote area.
Tesla are years ahead on their thinking here.
Thank god I found the Narrandera showgrounds had a 3 phase connector and I had my juice booster.
Don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate NRMA doing it but I would much much rather have redundancy and pay for the juice than just one charger which goes down in a remote area.
Tesla are years ahead on their thinking here.
Thank god I found the Narrandera showgrounds had a 3 phase connector and I had my juice booster.
Have you subsequently raised this with NRMA? They really need to understand how critical this is when a BEV driver is relying on a functioning charger to complete their journey. Even if they don’t build redundancy, they must have a number you can call with someone at the other end of the line that actually knows something and can even potentially fix it remotely. NRMA can’t just build these things and ‘forget’. They need to have active management and support! So if they don’t have that kind of 24/7 support, why not?
One of the check in posts on PlugShare notes that you could reset the thing by pushing the emergency stop button. After 5 mins it started working again. These may not may not be related events. You’ve sorted yourself out, but I’m keeping it in mind for the future. It is the 3rd or 4th time that charger has been out.
Chuq
Active Member
They are coming up to the introduction of paid charging. At this point they are going to have an app (most likely an add-on feature of their existing app) to authenticate you as an NRMA member. It's possible that charger status is going to be made available via this app?
Chuq
Active Member
The Tritium unit? Hardly unique to any one network operator, Chargefox or otherwise!
