Origin’s free EV charging offer pulled after a technical glitch launched webpage

It might’ve seemed like an offer that was too good to be true for EV drivers, and it was — for now, that is. Origin Energy has been forced to backtrack after a test page on their website offering five hours of free electricity a day unwittingly went live.

The webpage offering the 360 EV Energy Plan offered customers the opportunity to “charge your car for free in the middle of the day”, with five hours of free electricity available from 10am to 3pm every day — including on weekends.

Further details showed a discounted charging window (18c/kilowatthour) from 1am to 6am, while at other times of day, the rate was higher (28c/kWh). People with solar panels on their rooftops would’ve been pleased to see a solar feed-in tariff of 6c/kWh on offer too.

The site spruiking the offer accidentally went live ahead of time. Source: Origin

An Origin spokesperson told SmartCompany that the test page detailing the offer was “accidently pushed live to our website when it should remained in a private testing environment”.

“The link was then subsequently removed when we realised that it was publicly viewable, but obviously not before some customers located it.”

But don’t despair, the spokesperson added, as Origin customers can expect the initiative’s release to take place in the next six months, along with “other exciting EV initiatives”.

The free charging period fell between 10am and 3pm, when the bulk of renewable energy is generated. Source: Origin Energy

More charging bays on the way

It’ll be welcome news to many EV owners and would-be purchasers considering the country’s paltry charging infrastructure being a common lament — though that’s something that is changing.

In Queensland, Ampol is working with the state government to convert more than 30 service stations into EV hubs after Energy Queensland found the number of EVs had doubled (to 16,700) in just twelve months.

“Six months ago you’d be unlikely to see two or three EVs queued up at a set of lights, and you’re now starting to see that,” Ampol chief financial officer Greg Barnes said.

In NSW, the Perrottet government announced an ambitious promise to install 30,000 EV chargers across the state at train stations, ferry stops and commuter carparks in the next three years — double the number of petrol pumps, it said.

There are just 1000 public chargers in NSW at the moment, but places like Barclay Road (North Rocks) commuter carpark, West Ryde commuter carpark, Emu Plains commuter carpark would be among the first sites to receive the charging infrastructure.

Meanwhile in Victoria, startup Jolt is offering up to 7kWh of free fast charging per session in early 2023 to EV owners in Knox, in Melbourne’s east, thanks to a new council partnership.

The charging stations will be based in “local shopping centres and help people make the transition to electric cars” said Knox Mayor Marcia Timmers-Leitch, who confirmed the first charger would be installed on Station Street in Ferntree Gully.

Charging squatter crackdown

This comes as a new law in NSW will fine petrol and diesel car owners with a fine of up to $2,200 (the cash equivalent of 20 penalty units) if they park in designated EV charging bays.

It’s commonly known as ICEing — a reference to the internal combustible engine in a non-electrified car — though the update in the NSW Road Rules in November last year did not use the term.

“A driver of a vehicle that is not an electric-powered vehicle must not stop in a parking area for electric-powered vehicles,” it reads.

“A parking area for electric-powered vehicles is a length or area of a road … to which a permissive parking sign displaying an electric-powered vehicle symbol … [or] an electric-powered vehicle parking sign applies.”

But the updated rules also state EV drivers are not permitted to remain parked in the designated bays “unless the electric-powered vehicle is plugged into an external source of electricity” to reduce congestion.

The Driven reported an EV driver attracted ire after going ballooning while his car was parked in a charging bay, apologising on their return by saying ballooning “took longer than I thought”.