If you drive a 15-year-old ute, or don’t drive at all, would you expect to pay for public electric vehicle (EV) chargers?
The Australian Energy Market Commission has given preliminary backing to a plan that would let electricity network providers build public EV charging infrastructure and spread the cost across every electricity customer. That includes households who don’t own an electric vehicle and may never do so.
Faster charger rollouts and lower emissions are very worthy goals, and in regional areas like ours we stand to benefit. But how we pay matters. Electricity network charges already make up a big part of our bills, and this proposal would add to them. Pensioners, renters, and families already feeling the cost-of-living squeeze could end up helping to fund a service that’s mostly used by those who can afford an EV.
The commission believes the benefits outweigh the costs. It’s also worth asking who benefits most. Networks are monopolies with guaranteed returns, so they build, ratepayers foot the bill, and the risk lands on us.
There’s a simple, fairer way forward: let the people using the chargers pay for them. If the wider community is asked to contribute, let’s cap it and publish it, and show it as its own line on our bills so we can see exactly what we’re funding.
Consultation is open until 5 November 2026, with the decision by the end of the year. I encourage every reader to make a submission. If we’re all being asked to pay, we should all have a say.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
