Discussion about the NRMA EV fast charging network

@TomL​ Totally agree regarding the Golden Highway Tom.
I've also raised the option of a charger in Merriwa, as we frequently drive from Maitland to Mudgee with no chargers in between unless you take a fairly big detour to Scone.
While we can de the trip fairly comfortably without charging, I'd hate to be in say, an MG, which I know struggle to make that trip without a lot of range anxiety.
Merriwa would be ideal.

Abit of a blackspot this, I mentioned it before in my trip I did down from Coona in my 28kw Ioniq.

@clayton4115​ Problem solved. Tesla just opened up superchargers for other EVs at 4-5 lightly-used sites, 3 of which are on or near the Golden Highway corridor.

* Bathurst (not quite confirmed)
* Tamworth

* Hollydene/Jerry's Plains

* Dubbo

* Narooma

It's 79c/kWh, which they'll drop to 66c if you sign up for a monthly membership.

Presumably these are the sites where it's less of a concern if you double-park and block two stalls due to your charge port location being incompatible with a supercharger.

@PCLoadLetter​ Yep, just got a couple of similar posts on the local EV site 

@PCLoadLetter​ that's great news! the more sites the merrier, it would still be good if NRMA install something at Gilgandra. 

@Crouch​ 
Is it possible yet to upgrade that battery capacity in a '15 Leaf, in Australia?

No, a bit complicated apparently with some sort of software update and not just a physical swap.  They can do it in the Netherlands and I’ve hear of people from the UK taking their Leaf across the channel to have it done, but not something anyone in Australia is setup to do. Would be nice if they could though. 

@Crouch​ Apologies, it's a little overdue here. Braidwood is definitely an area we're scoping out for our network and hopefully launching in the next few months. We've added this to our EV charging map along with some other coming soon sites too. Pls do share any insights or suggestions as we're listening. 

I note that the NRMA network map has Braidwood listed is there any updates on when it might be available.

Also what has happened with the sites from the NSW suipported deployments.  I note that NRMA was doing a site at Queanbeyan and was wondering where that is up to.

Hello @rodney, Sorry it's been a while with our response here. It looks like the forecast launch for Braidwood is around August of this year. I believe we'll also have a co-funded site at Queanbeyan by next year, but palnning can sometimes change, but we'll update when we have more info. 

@Kerr​ There is a phone number on the chargers to report any issue at the time so that they can be attended to asap. 

Hi Can NRMA give us an update on when the Jerilderie charger will be back online?

Thanks

Hi @clayton4115 - thank you for reaching out on this and please excuse the delay in response. I have spoken to the Energy team and they have confirmed that due to the council work in the area we are unable to meet our safety and customer standards, so until that work is complete the charger will be offline. Unfortunately, we don't have control over the council work progress but will have the site back live it is safe to do so.  
Dan

Thanks Dan, did the council give the NRMA as ETA when their works will be completed?

Unfortunately not, Clayton. We will let you know as soon as we hear.

Glad you noticed @bje . It's not officially opened, but is operational, as well as a new site in Gilgandra too. We we're aiming to have these live by Christmas but glad there are all good to go. 

Any plans for a DC fast charger at Kyogle?

Hello @Andrew_F Thanks for joining the conversation, although it's a little off-topic in our EV community. We do share the same well-known brand, but NRMA Insurance is a separate company from us, so we're not able to assist directly. 

I am sorry that your repairs are taking longer than expected and you've not been updated. It's possible there may be a delay in sourcing a part from overseas from the supplier, however if the matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction after speaking to the claims dept, you can escalate the matter further via: https://www.nrma.com.au/complaints-resolutions . Sorry we can't help further, but we hope your repairs are carried out soon. 

Hi NRMA

On the ABRP (A better route planner) webpage and app you can see the status of the chargers, green means available and red means occupied - however I noticed on the NRMA ones in NSW they are coloured black meaning "unknown" any reason for this?

@clayton4115​ The problem, simply, is that the NRMA charger status is not being fed to ABRP. I've contacted ABRP asking them to make enquiries with NRMA, but so far no luck. I have argued that the more remote nature of many of these chargers makes it really important that they be shown correctly in ABRP.

@bje​ I will also send a message to ABRP and ask them about this issue. 

Whilst ABRP is not showing the charger status, you can always check the NRMA app, which shows whether or not a charger is in use. I know its a PITA having to check multiple apps, but it's what we have to live with for now.

I'm not sure how common it is generally, but at the Tesla chargers I use, very few Tesla owners appear to use Plugshare, yet another app I frequently refer to to figure out if a charger is available.

You need to check current check-ins, as the working status of chargers is often well out of date. I advised them the Tamworth NRMA charger is working over a week ago, yet they still show it as 'under repair'.

Gordon, that's not really a good workaround because the whole point of ABRP is to do route planning including charging stops based on charger availability. ABRP version 5 now shows charger status in real-time as you are navigating to a charging station (including in the free version). This is tremendously useful.

We have to stop accepting half-baked solutions if we want EV adoption to go mainstream. These systems need to be flawless, easy to use, and reliable. FWIW, I think the NRMA app is a distant second to the Chargefox app.

Yeah. It's part of my "Stage 2 EV Chargers" wish list.

Stage 1 was just getting them. NRMA has been doing a great job.

Stage 2 is:

- Reliability. Sort'a obvious this one.

- Security. Don't hide them out of site. Don't leave clients in the dark at night

- Protection. We're almost always out in the elements. Awnings, site drainage, wind breaks, etc would be welcome.

- Access. How about some sort of standard around size of bays and minimum distance objects like bushes, rocks, branches etc can come. Also some thought needs to be give to pull-through bays and disability bays. Cable length is a function of type of charger, but given EVs have no standards around location of charge ports cables do need length.

- Service. They should always been near amenities.

@Gaffa, the Australian EV Association has been advocating for many of these things from all of the charging networks.

Lou, for trips like this, you should really get acquainted with Plugshare. I just looked up the NRMA Cowra charger and it's clear that there have been problems with it since yesterday. It's much better to investigate the status of chargers before you leave home and have a plan B than have to deal with it en route.

Does NRMA have any plans to increase the number of chargers at locations where there is only one?

Last Sunday I spent well over an hour waiting at the Gunnedah charger, I was checking the charger display and the Hyundai Ionic had been fully charged for 15 mins before I couldn't hang around any longer, as my wife was waiting for me so we could load the van for the trip home. The driver wasn't on Plugshare, so I had no idea if they were going to be 10 mins or 10 hours. I left a note under the windscreen asking them if they could use Plugshare.

Fortunately there was a decent tailwind and we made it to Tamworth just before the low battery screen appeared, for a fast charge at the Tesla Supercharger before continuing on home.

For the many drivers who don't use Plugshare it would be handy if the NRMA (and other) charging apps had provision for inputting when the car might be moved so that others could know what sort of wait they had before they could charge.

NRMA should institute idle charging fees just like Tesla and Evie (and possibly others). Something like $1 per minute once charging finishes and after a 5minute grace period expires.

@GordonED7​ Yes, we do have plans to increase chargers at some of our busier locations. We're also looking at options such as idle fees to encourage drivers to move their EV once they have completed their charge. 

@Kerr​ it's definitely something we are looking at as an option to hopefully help encourage drivers to move their EVs once they have finished charging. 

The NRMA chargers at Lithgow were used as recently as two days ago. Take a look on PlugShare.

That's not what I am talking about. They've been there for years and I have used them. They are very busy. If you read my post you would see the words "new NRMA chargers".

I'm asking about the NEW NRMA chargers at Eskbank Street. A couple of 150kW CCS2s.

If you look at Plugshare you will see they are not yet operational.

I am asking if there is an ETA from NRMA on these.

Hey @Kerr , Apologies for the delay here. If all goes to plan, we're hoping to have the additional locations in Lithgow ready towards late November. There's a booked date for 17 November with a back-up date of 15 December if there are any issues with the Distributed Network Service Provider. 

Thanks for the useful update.

Regds,
David