NRMA ends free electric-car fast-charging in NSW

The National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) will move away from providing free fast-charging for all electric-car owners – instead introducing a smartphone app towards the end of 2023 for drivers to pay for a battery top-up, providing funding to expand its network.

As reported by electric-car publication The Driven, the NRMA – which claims to have more than 2.7 million members in Australia – will no longer offer free charging to electric-car owners across its network of 50kW fast chargers.

The NRMA’s fast-charging network – which consists of more than 50 charging stations along major highways connecting regional hubs in New South Wales and border regions – is currently accessible to all electric-car owners, not just members of the motoring club.

According to The Driven, the NRMA’s free charging stations are often busy, resulting in long queues of electric-car drivers waiting to use the chargers.

Carly Irving-Dolan, the head of NRMA Energy, told The Driven the motoring club is developing a smartphone app which would allow users to pay for a fast-charge when it moves away from free charging for all, with a trial due to begin before the end of 2023.

“The aim is that around October (or) November (2023) is when we will start to look at a trial (for billing),” Ms Irving-Dolan told The Driven’s podcast. “And if we can get that right, then we’ll go from there. But that is the plan.”

While the NRMA is yet to announce pricing for its electric-car fast chargers, Ms Irving-Dolan said it aims to be ‘competitive’ compared to other companies – while discounts for NRMA members and fleet/business operators could also be on the cards.

For context, Evie and Chargefox – which is now owned by a consortium of Australia’s motoring clubs, including the NRMA – charge 40 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electric-car drivers to use their 50kWh fast-chargers. 

By requiring electric-car owners to pay to use the chargers, the NRMA aims to both reduce the number of people using the facilities – leading to shorter queues – while funding further upgrades to its charging network.

In April 2023, the NRMA announced it would partner with the Australian Government to spend $78.6 million on funding an additional 117 fast-charging locations around the country – not just in New South Wales.

As the NRMA aims to start making electric-car drivers pay for its fast-chargers, energy firm AGL has announced it will offer discounted rates to certain customers who use oil giant BP’s ‘Pulse’ charging stations.

In a media statement, the three-year agreement – which will run from July 2023 until 2026 – will allow AGL customers in New South Wales who purchase its ‘EV (electric-vehicle) home energy plan’ to receive discounted charging rates at BP Pulse sites.

Neither AGL or BP Pulse provided details about how much of a discount customers would receive, instead claiming the program will align with BP’s plans to open 600 recharging points in "key metropolitan and regional BP retail locations along Australia’s east coast".

At present, there are approximately 30 BP Pulse electric-car charging stations in Australia, located in New South Wales, Victoria and Brisbane – largely along major highways or in metropolitan areas.