Braddon, Civic, Kingston, and Canberra's largest vehicle retailing hubs of Belconnen and Philip are identified as the five top priorities for the rollout of the ACT government's 50 promised new public recharging stations.
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The new charging stations, the exact locations of which are as yet undisclosed and will be partly determined by Evoenergy substation capability, will be in addition to the 10 new sites which Evie Networks is progressing separately.
Some of the preparatory work for the privately run Evie sites, partially funded by the company and by Australian Renewable Energy (ARENA) future fuels grants, are nearing completion, with on-site works due to start soon.
As the territory's charger rollout struggles to match the fast uptake in local electric vehicle sales, the Australian Electric Vehicle Association is urging the forthcoming ACT government program be supported by a regular audit and maintenance program to ensure the chargers remain online.
A survey by the association last year revealed a litany of issues and poor maintenance of the existing public chargers. Only four are the customer-preferred rapid chargers.
Evie Networks is insistent that its 10 proposed sites for the ACT, each of which will have two publicly accessible fast chargers, will be supported by a robust audit and maintenance program.
The ACT has the highest per capita ownership of zero-emission vehicles in the country but the lowest ratio of public charging stations, with 0.1 per EV (or one charger for every 10 electric vehicles).
In an outlook document released in December last year, Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Shane Rattenbury said that his future vision was "a charging market where consumers have the best possible public charging experience".
"Competition will deliver long-term benefits, driving efficient prices and high customer satisfaction, and innovation will lead to continuous improvement," the document said.
"Charging will be designed for people, not vehicles - chargepoint locations numbers and speed are optimised for consumer habits to make charging as convenient as possible, and users are able to see pricing and availability of chargers before leaving the house."
The outlook left the door well open for providers to place the government-funded chargers on private land in Canberra - including, but not limited to, "public parking areas near community facilities, next to tourist attractions, or in privately owned car parks that are accessible to the public. Parking fees, and fees directly associated with charging the vehicle may still apply."
Also on the wish list of the association, and already flagged by the government, is a change to ACT planning laws in which any new townhouse or apartment complex in Canberra must include the provision for dedicated carpark recharging spaces.
Association chair Rob Ogilvie met with the ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability last week to seek clarity around government plans to encourage a higher EV uptake in the territory and improve the ownership experience of those already driving an electric car so they stick with the technology and encourage others to do so.
"The ACT has shown the way to the rest of the country on how to accelerate the take-up of EVs, and deserves praise for its progressive policies," Mr Ogilvie said.
"The sustainable household scheme offering zero-interest loans, transitioning the government fleet to EVs, and the free rego to EV owners are all great incentives, but equally there are clear policy gaps which need to be plugged.
"These 50 new EV recharging stations will add more confidence to the market but with public money committed, then the government should ensure that the providers deliver a full maintenance and support program, and that program is regularly audited."
Some of the promised policy initiatives from the government, such as the waiver of stamp duty on second-hand EVs registered for the first time in the ACT, are yet to be fulfilled.
The government's own predictions see the number of zero-emission vehicle registrations in the territory growing by an average of 2600 a year to 2030.
To support this growth, the outlook estimates that the ACT would need "at least" 580 to 1000 public chargers within the same timeframe.
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