Electric car owner is hit with a HUGE fine for stealing power after hooking up to a council power box in the bush
- A Western Australia man was fined $500 for stealing electricity
- WA Police shamed the man on social media
- Existing infrastructure for EVs is questionable however
A man has been fined by police after using a local council’s power box to charge his electric car.
The car was spotted around noon on Sunday hooked up to the council outlet in Mt Barker, 363km southeast of Perth.
Cops subsequently charged the 78-year-old man from Cranbrook with stealing the electricity and fined him $500.
It’s illegal in WA to charge an electric car anywhere in public aside from an approved service point.
A WA man was fined by police after using a local council power box to charge his electric car
It’s illegal in WA to charge an EV in public anywhere but an approved service point
Mt Barker police used their Twitter account on Tuesday evening to make an example of the man.
‘To clarify. If you want to recharge your e-vehicle, DON’T steal the electricity to do so,’ they posted, along with a photo of the man’s car plugged into the power box.
‘Police will prosecute in EVERY instance. This recharge cost the vehicle owner a $500 fine, for stealing from the Shire. Be better.’
The Electric Vehicle Council’s Australian EV Charger Map on their website shows a Shire of Plantagenet charging station in Mt Barker, another in Cranbrook, and two more in Kendenup, which is between the two towns.
The Twitter post was shared by the main WA Police Force Facebook account, with comments supporting both sides.
There were many options for the thief in the surrounding area according to The Electric Vehicle Council’s Australian EV Charger Map (pictured)
Some said the incident demonstrated why EVs were not viable in regional areas, while others said it showed more country charging stations needed to be installed.
Others across the country have questioned the existing infrastructure supporting EVs, including 2GB’s Ben Fordham who went to Facebook to share his thoughts.
The radio host compared wires strewn across Millers Point, in Sydney to a ‘plate of spaghetti’ and argued that makeshift set-ups are an ‘accident waiting to happen’.
In New South Whales, EV owners can charge their cars at stations, work, or at home – with the latter option leading to the dangerous entanglements on busy streets.
One makeshift charging set-up involved a yellow extension lead hanging off an upstairs balcony, then looped around the branch of a tree and plugged into a powerboard.
Another dodgy setup was with a lengthy trail of power cord in Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches.
The cable looped over the front fence, snaking from the road and up a driveway into a nearby home.
Fordham said the ‘bizarre’ scenes will be even more common when millions of EVs are on the roads.
In Manly, Sydney cables were spotted looping over a fence and snaking up a driveway into a nearby home
Another makeshift Sydney set-up involved a yellow extension lead hanging off an upstairs balcony, then looped around the branch of a tree and plugged into a powerboard