Consultation begins on the future of Smart EV charging

Across the country, more households and businesses are choosing to adopt EVs and charge their vehicles at home. As EV uptake increases and the wider New Zealand economy electrifies, growing electricity demand from EV charging risks putting pressure on our electricity networks – increasing the cost of electricity for all consumers through expensive infrastructure upgrades.

In the face of energy security and affordability challenges, regulating EV charging offers a cost-effective solution to this problem by giving consumers the option to shift their electricity usage to off-peak times through smart charging. Smart charging can ease the pressure on the electricity system, avoid the costs of expensive infrastructure upgrades being passed on to Kiwis in their power bills, and allow households and businesses to save money through cheaper charging rates at off-peak times.

Modelling suggests widespread use of smart and energy efficient EV chargers could save New Zealand up to $4 billion by 2050, enabling better use of renewable electricity and reducing the need for fossil-fuelled generation at times of peak demand.

MBIE is consulting on 5 options for the regulation of EV chargers – retaining the status quo, voluntary labelling, mandatory labelling, requiring EV chargers supplied in New Zealand to be smart, and requiring EV chargers supplied in New Zealand to be smart and comply with labelling requirements. Consultation will run until 1 August 2025.

Have your say on the future of smart EV charging until 1 August 2025: 

Supporting the uptake of Smart Electric Vehicle charging in New Zealand