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Updated October 7, 2026 \u2014 10:24am,first published 5:20am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Tesla and some of the largest Australian power companies have united to fight a controversial plan to pass the cost of building public EV chargers onto all households through electricity bill increases, even for those who do not own an EV.<\/p>\n In a joint letter to local authorities, the electric car giant and more than a dozen industry players \u2013 including AGL, EnergyAustralia, Engie and private charge-point operators like Evie Networks<\/a> \u2013 are warning that a recent decision allowing monopoly power-grid owners to expand into the EV-charging market risks saddling households with higher costs for uncertain benefits.<\/p>\n The clash comes as booming sales of EVs<\/a>, which now account for one in four new vehicles sold across the country, are piling pressure on governments and the industry to urgently scale up public charging infrastructure to keep pace with demand.<\/p>\n To accelerate the rollout of kerbside chargers, Australian power distributors \u2013 owners of the grid\u2019s poles-and-wires infrastructure \u2013 have secured preliminary approval from the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) to mount 14,000 EV chargers on existing power poles in regional blackspots and other areas underserved by private companies. Under the trial, they will be allowed to recover 70 per cent of the costs through regulated charges paid by all electricity consumers on their power bills, with the federal government footing the remainder.<\/p>\n The AEMC estimates the initiative will add $1 a year to people\u2019s bills over a five-year period \u2013 an increase it argues is outweighed by the broader economic and environmental benefits. On Wednesday, the commission said that its analysis to date indicated that the program\u2019s \u201cbenefits outweigh its costs to consumers\u201d.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cThese benefits include the emission reductions assessed to be expected from the additional EVs resulting from the provision of additional charging infrastructure,\u201d AEMC chair Anna Collyer said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Commonwealth\u2019s program is a targeted measure to help close the gap between the rising EV uptake and EV charging infrastructure \u2013 the two will positively reinforce one another as the public continues to consider the transition to non-combustion vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n However, energy retailers and private charging networks are demanding greater scrutiny of the program\u2019s assumed costs and wider benefits.<\/p>\n In the joint letter to the AEMC, they expressed concerns that the true bill for consumers could escalate beyond the estimated $1 annual charge and impose unfair burden on households already struggling with rising living costs. They noted that the commission\u2019s own analysis had been unable to confirm whether each network-owned charger would lead to 1.5 to 3.8 new EV purchases \u2013 the number needed to justify the cost.<\/p>\n Their submission also argued that allowing government-regulated grid monopolies into the market will distort competition by undermining the private operators risking their own capital to build competing networks.<\/p>\n Stephanie Bashir, founder of consultancy Nexa Advisory, which organised the letter, said the signatories supported the rollout of more EV charging. But the need for more chargers did not \u201cestablish a case for electricity networks to own them or for every electricity customer to help pay for them\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is potentially like an EV tax on electricity bills,\u201d Bashir said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who cannot afford an EV, do not own a car or will never use these chargers would still contribute through their electricity bills \u2013 the AEMC must explain why that is justified.\u201d<\/p>\n Tesla, one of the world\u2019s biggest EV makers, said a network operator\u2019s job was to build, run and maintain the shared grid, \u201cnot to own, control, or roll out the batteries, chargers and other equipment\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNetworks should set the table, so competitive markets can do their work – they should not pull up a chair and play, while also owning the table, writing the rules for who gets a seat, and acting as umpire,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n AGL, the second-largest Australian power retailer, echoed those concerns, stressing that it was important for the rollout to deliver the best outcomes for customers at the lowest possible cost, and that the case for network ownership had \u201cnot yet been established\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe AEMC\u2019s proposal would require all electricity consumers to fund charging infrastructure through their electricity bills, even those who may never use the service,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cAllowing monopoly network businesses to lead the rollout risks higher costs and weaker service outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the AEMC\u2019s draft ruling, the private market receives the first \u201cright of refusal\u201d to take up identified kerbside charging sites, while network companies are the \u201clast-resort providers\u201d in regional black spots where private charging stations are currently uneconomic. Collyer stressed that the trial program was time-limited, and did not extend or set a precedent to any larger role for distribution networks in EV charging in the future. \u201cAll feedback will be considered ahead of a final determination, expected by the end of this year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Related Article Australia\u2019s network companies such as Ausgrid, CitiPower, Powercor, and Essential Energy, said in a submission earlier this year that waiving \u201cring-fencing\u201d rules and allowing them to enter the competitive public-charging market would help ensure greater access for those unable to charge EVs at home because they lived in apartments or did not have off-street parking.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not have enough accessible, affordable public charging,\u201d said Energy Networks Australia, an industry group. \u201cBy enabling distribution networks to install, own and maintain kerbside electric vehicle charging using existing infrastructure, such as power poles, we can deliver faster, more affordable, and more widespread access to charging where people need it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Power](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5d1076146bd0766b0ee03dfecd932bc8beed3ac2.jpeg\")
Power network companies have won preliminary approval to build 14000 kerbside EV chargers in underserved blackspots.Jason South<\/p>\n![\"BYD](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1fab66194d63626b965d096c19f53477c19e165d.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Tesla](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/53e7e4d6a0c1c6309d3f71d589589f8171578bbd.jpeg\")
Tesla and some of the largest Australian power companies have united to fight a controversial plan to pass the cost of building public EV chargers onto all households through electricity bill increasesGetty Images<\/p>\n![\"Currently,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/96ba0793675e3b5ac975c254caf123eb20563ddc.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791340941_199_744a786804b4da42856a965fea442edb1e4c4780.png\")
Nick Toscano<\/a> is a business reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated October 7, 2026 \u2014 10:24am,first published 5:20am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":918896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-918895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}