What is the Queensland Energy regulation and how does it affect charging my EV?
It’s no secret the increase in electric vehicles in Australia has caused some issues in the electricity market. The state energy networks across Australia were designed for multi-energy home consumption – electricity and gas. As households transition to electricity only energy supply as well as the increasing trend for energy use with Electric Vehicles, Induction Cooking, and AC, the networks are using unique solutions to help stabilise the grid. In general, networks were designed and setup for the average household to consume ~4-5kW load but EV chargers and batteries surpass this average consumption – consider a standard dedicated EV charger can use 7kW alone.
According to Electric Vehicle Council, the average household electricity consumption can expect to increase by 50% with the addition of home charging an electric vehicle. Multiply this by all the homes adopting home EV charging, the stress of the network across Australia is apparent and growing.
Queensland has unique and complicated issues in their electricity network which has affected the power supply reliability. In response, improvements are in progress to electrical infrastructure but there have also been regulations setup to fairly distribute the current supply across all households and prevent blackouts, especially during peak usage.
As someone considering owning (and charging) an EV in QLD, what does this mean for you?
Below are some options available for EV charging in QLD.
According to Energex, this allows for charging from excess solar and access to cheaper electricity rates through time-of-use tariffs. However, this is slow and won’t be a suitable solution for drivers who travel a lot or don’t want to have to charge every day. Popular models such as the BYD Sealion 7 or Tesla Model 3 will take ~20 hours of continuous charge to reach 80% from 20%.
This is a permanent downrate of the charger which is set by the electrician during installation. This means a slower than normal charge. With 20 Amps you can expect to add 25-30km per hour of charge which is ~ 10 hours for 20-80% charge. The full 32 Amps provides around 40km of charge per hour of charge which is ~ 7 hours for 20-80% charge.
Your EV charger will be installed through a dedicated circuit back to your meter by a licensed electrician who will then notify the network provider, such as Energex. With this connection, the supply to the connected appliance (your EV charger) is interruptible and the network will manage when power is available to regulate demand. Typically, power will be available in off-peak hours and promises supply for a minimum of 16 hours per day. However, it is important to note, when power is interrupted from the network, the charger will be offline and unable to be used. This option also does not allow to charge from a solar PV system.
Electricity used by these appliances will be charged at a lower ‘economy’ rate. You will be able to use the full 32A or 7kW when available.
This option will also allow 32amp or 7kW, but supply is interruptible by the network provider. A device will be installed at your meter board which allows the network to remotely turn off the supply to your home charger when the network is under pressure, typically in the late afternoon and early evening. When power is running to the charger, it will not be at a discounted rate. With this setup, you can still use your solar PV system to directly charge.
This is a newer technology utilising two-way communication between the network provider and the EV charger. With a gateway device installed at the home switchboard, the network can temporarily reduce the power running to the charger, depending on the needs of the network. Unlike other options, this will only reduce charging speed for a short time rather than turn off power completely so EV drivers can be confident in their EV still receiving charge. Households will also still be able to utilise their solar PV systems to charge their EV.
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