Queensland EV charging no longer free

EV drivers in Queensland will soon need to pay to recharge their vehicles on the state's most popular roads.

The Queensland government's network of 31 electric car charging stations has been free until now, but the Brisbane Times reports that is set to change.

Sources have told the website that, within weeks, charging an electric vehicle at stations along Queensland’s electric super highway, or QESH, will incur a fee of 45 cents per kiloWatt (kW) hour.

Electric vehicle information website My Electric Car says the average cost to charge an EV in Australia is 25 cents per kiloWatt hour.

Queensland Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said negotiations were already underway to charge a price below the quoted 45 cents.

Prices on Queensland's electric super highway are reportedly set by Yurika Energy, the sustainable energy arm of Energy Queensland, while the network itself is managed by private infrastructure company Chargefox.

"This equates to about $20 for 300 kilometres of driving range,”  Yurika Energy general manager Charles Rattray told the Brisbane Times.

The highway that runs from Cairns to Coolangatta and Brisbane to Toowoomba currently has 31 charging stations.

According to Marty Andrews, the chief executive Chargefox, most EV charging stations in Australia now charge less than 45 cents per kW hour, saying prices “range from about 25 cents to 45 cents for kW hour”.

Meantime, Australia's first residential EV car-sharing service has been launched in Melbourne. Teaming with Hyundai and infrastructure company JetCharge, 'Ohmie GO' will offer two new Hyundai Kona EVs to rent for residents of the EQ Tower in the CBD.

Ohmie GO officials will use the EQ Tower service to validate its business model. It is currently evaluating a similar program for electric scooters and motorbikes, and in holiday resorts and dedicated commercial tenancy settings.