Opinion divided over electric vehicle’s use of council power
An enterprising driver who used a council-owned power box to charge their electric vehicle has divided opinion on social media.
The photo, snapped by a Nelson man and posted on a local Facebook page, showed the Nissan Leaf parked at Tāhunanui Beach, a charging cable stretching across the footpath to plug into the outlet.
The post attracted more than 200 comments, with opinion divided.
“Great idea! Good on them!” one person wrote.
“I don’t think this is really ‘stealing’; if council didn’t want it used they would lock it up,” another said.
Others condemned the opportunistic driver.
“Very unfair. Unplug or report to the council,” one commenter said.
“Hope they get done for theft,” wrote another.
Others reported occasions where freedom campers and campervans had also used the power boxes.
Nelson City Council community services group manager Andrew White said the power boxes were provided for people who held concessions with council. This included food trucks, and people who booked the sites for short periods.
“They are not provided for the charging of EVs, campervans or freedom campers. However, it’s possible the car owner was not aware of this,” White said.
The boxes were unlocked as securing them would add a layer of bureaucracy for council and users that so far had not been necessary, White said.
“We will look at how the boxes might be made lockable and we’ll then look at whether this is worth doing,” he said.
Council also planned to look into signs at the power boxes to avoid confusion.
There are just a handful of charging stations across the region, with the closest to Tāhunanui Beach being in Nelson CBD.
Last year, when the council gave feedback on the Labour Government’s draft long-term electric vehicle charging strategy, its submission noted that as of April 2023, Nelson ranked fourth in the country for EV ownership.
While the number of charging stations was sufficient for current ownership levels, the low number would deter many people from switching to EVs, the submission said.
“Very unfair, Unplug or report to the council.”
A response to a Facebook post of a photo showing an electric vehicle being re-charged at a council-owned power box.