Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
The RAA is set to install its second electric vehicle charging station on Yorke Peninsula, part of a planned total of eight within the region.
Barunga West Council has accepted an offer by the RAA to replace its two existing Tesla-branded chargers on Harvey Street, next to the Port Broughton council chambers by the end of the year.
Charge program director Andrew Howard said an RAA station installed at the Wallaroo Holiday Park in July is in use and stations are scheduled to be installed and operational at Port Wakefield, Kadina, Snowtown, Stansbury and Ardrossan by the end of the year.
Another will be operational in Minlaton in early 2024.
“Importantly, five of those sites will be rapid and ultra-rapid sites meaning EV drivers can charge their cars in 10 to 45 minutes, helping to unlock tourism in the region for EV drivers,” Mr Howard said.
The stations will be part of a network of 140 rolled out by RAA across South Australia by early 2024.
About 75 per cent will be located in regional towns along highways, in tourism hotspots and at popular holiday accommodation sites.
Mr Howard said the Port Broughton charging station will have a single and a double car chargers.
A council spokesperson said the Tesla chargers were initially designed only to accommodate Tesla vehicles but drivers of other EVs found a way to utilise them using adapters.
“However, these charging points have not been without issues, recently facing technical challenges which need repairs, and that would need to be funded from council’s operational budget,” he said.
“Council foots the electricity bill for the Tesla charging stations, with the average estimated cost for a full recharge about $25.
“Under the RAA’s proposal, their replacement chargers will cater to all types of EVs and come with an assurance the RAA will shoulder all maintenance and operational responsibilities.”
Mayor Leonie Kerley said the most notable change would be motorists who use the RAA chargers would bear the cost of charging.
“The collaboration between Barunga West Council and the RAA appears to be a win-win, encouraging EV drivers to stop in Port Broughton and alleviating financial pressures on ratepayers,” she said.
This article appeared in the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 4 October 2023.
