Federation Council rejects EV chargers as more headed to Albury

Albury Council has received a NSW government grant to install four destination chargers at the multi-storey Volt Lane car park and the David Street car park behind the Regent cinemas.

Work is now occurring on finding a preferred supplier and they are expected to be operating by the end of the year.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla has also received funding for fast chargers in Albury.

The additions follow the city's first public charger at the Kiewa Street multi-storey car park becoming inoperative because of vandalism.

Approaches have been made to its owner, the NRMA, to move it to a safer area.

Meanwhile, Federation councillors voted 5-4 at their meeting on Tuesday, August 29, to not proceed with installing chargers at its sites and to encourage private businesses to erect them and apply for relevant NSW government grants.

The decision followed a report done into the feasibility of having chargers in Federation and whether the council should pursue grants assistance.

It ranked caravan parks at Oaklands and Urana, the Howlong library and Corowa Civic Centre as medium priority sites for chargers, with Club Corowa and Corowa Distilling Co rated as high priorities.

Councillors David Fahey, Gail Law and Shaun Whitechurch said the private sector should be left to install chargers and they should not be the domain of council.

"I don't think it's prudent of council to go against other businesses in town when other businesses could do that," Cr Law said.

Cr Whitechurch added: "If it was in that greater demand businesses would be jumping to put them in, if they were making money, why would council be putting them in to lose money?"

But councillor Aaron Nicholls, who drives a hybrid, said neighbouring councils, such as Murrumbidgee at Jerilderie, had supported chargers and they had a beneficial impact on tourism spending

"At present people driving from Sydney to Melbourne go around this LGA because there is not sufficient infrastructure to support the charging of their vehicles," Cr Nicholls said.

"We need EV charging points, it needs to be a mix of private and council, so that we attract people to charge their vehicles, have a coffee, spend money, go for a swim, enjoy their stay in the caravan park."

Councillor Sally Hughes said it made economic sense for the council to assist smaller centres in Federation.

"I would have thought strategically to have one at Urana would be really good and you're not going to get a private business in Urana putting in an EV charging station," Cr Hughes said.

Rand Farm Supplies owner Sara Kreutzberger said her father drove his electric vehicle from western Victoria on a recent visit and stayed at Corowa and had to go to Barnawartha to recharge his car.

"I think it makes sense to have them in the area, so people travel through the area," Mrs Kreutzberger said.

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