The electric vehicle charger operator dropped from an ACT government rollout over concerns about advertising in public spaces says it will still look for opportunities to install chargers in Canberra.
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The ACT's Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate cancelled its contract with charger operator Jolt on Tuesday, citing concern the business model relied on digital advertising that would constitute "visual pollution".
Jolt founder and chief executive Doug McNamee said the company would investigate other opportunities to install chargers in the territory as part of its national rollout strategy.
"Jolt had been excited to partner with the ACT government to increase our national footprint. We are disappointed that the ACT government's position has changed and would welcome the opportunity to partner with them in the future in delivering much needed charging infrastructure for the public," Mr McNamee said.
Mr McNamee said Jolt was one of the largest DC fast-charging networks in both New South Wales and South Australia.
"There is, however, a huge gap in charging infrastructure across the country. Jolt plays an important part in closing that gap by making fast public charging more accessible, and is the only company in Australia offering free charging to EV drivers, saving them more than $1000 annually," he said.
Geoffrey Rutledge, a deputy director-general within the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, on Tuesday said the government was still on track to deliver 50 chargers by the end of 2023, a commitment in the parliamentary agreement struck by Labor and the Greens.
The government in August 2022 had announced the three providers, which included Jolt, Evie Networks and Engie, would deliver 77 chargers by the end of 2023, at a cost of $1.4 million.
Mr Rutledge said Jolt had got through the first part of the procurement process because officials believed the advertising involved would be acceptable. All operators are expected to have signs on their charging stations.
"We were looking for innovative business models and they came with an innovative business model, which is they offer free charging to the consumer, but they do display digital advertising at the time," he said.
"We thought that would probably be OK."
The more detailed development application process revealed the digital display advertising required would be "a bridge too far", leading to the government's decision to cancel the contract, he said.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
Advertising signs on public unleased land are banned in the ACT, unless approved by the director-general of the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate, who must find the signs do not "cause undue disturbance, inconvenience or offence".
The National Capital Plan also bans commercial roadside signs except on bus shelters.
More than 500 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations will need to be installed across Canberra before the end of the decade to support the take-up of zero-emission cars, an internal ACT government assessment found late last year.
The majority of adult Canberrans are interested in buying an electric vehicle when they next replace their car, but high prices remain the most significant barrier, a study commissioned for the ACT in 2020 found.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
