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A photo of an unorthodox electric vehicle charging solution has sparked a community debate on the NSW Mid North Coast.
The Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) has issued a warning about the dangers of using extension leads to charge EVs.
What's next?
The EVC says more fast-charging stations are being rolled out across the country.
Electrical engineer Keith Bensley was on a morning walk in Sawtell, on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, when he was stopped by an extension power cable snaking across the footpath.
"It surprised me, it was a real trip hazard," he said.
Mr Bensley said the cable, which ran across the paved footpath, over an adjacent lawn, all the way to the top story of a block of flats, was being used to charge an electric vehicle.
"There was no attempt to put anything over the cable, and it had rained the night before, so it was nice and wet."
Stunned by what he saw, Mr Bensley took a photo and shared it on a community Facebook page.
The image instantly sparked a conversation about EV charging etiquette.
The post quickly reached more than 100 comments.
"What about users of wheelchairs and walkers?" one commenter wrote.
"Creative and dangerous," another said.
Mr Bensley said he wasn't surprised people were quick to voice their opinions about the ad hoc charging solution.
"You see a lot of that in the city areas, where people are in high density terrace houses. It's a bit of a surprise to see this turning up in Sawtell," he said.
"If [water] had got in between the plug and the socket. It can actually burn and could start a fire if it was on dry grass.
"I guess the car owners were desperate."
The City of Coffs Harbour Council said the set-up was illegal as it obstructed a public footpath, and encouraged residents to report similar incidents in the future.
EV owners get creative with home charging
Electric-vehicle owners living in rural and regional areas make up 18 per cent of EV customers nationwide, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.
While the New South Wales government has announced plans to roll out hundreds of public EV charging ports across Sydney and Newcastle, the rollout of public charging infrastructure is slower in the regions.
The nearby Port Macquarie City Council has installed public EV chargers mounted on streetlights in a trial with Essential Energy.
"Installing more EV charging across regional, rural and remote NSW is key to overcoming range anxiety and the barrier of purchasing an EV," an Essential Energy spokesperson said.
Sawtell locals Gina Meyers and Andrew Perry, early adopters of electric vehicles, saw Mr Bensley's post on social media.
They said they had become sympathetic to some of the solutions EV users have had to muster after they moved to the Mid North Coast this year.
"We moved into quite an old house and we're not sure whether the electrics of it would cope with a charger at the moment," Ms Meyers said.
"When you don't have a charger at home it's a little more complicated.
"We've had to be a little bit more creative about finding power points around the house we can use to run an extension cable out to the car."
The couple's set up involves an extension cable running out of a window, which connects outside to the electric vehicle charging adapter.
They use a terracotta pot to elevate the charger from the lawn, before covering it with a plastic tub to ensure the connection is waterproof.
Because the couple don't often drive long distances, they say the arrangement works for them.
"Its people who don't have a driveway or a garage, where do you plug in? They're stuck with having to use [public] chargers much more often." Mr Perry said.
"It's just going to be one of those teething problems."
Government to build more public EV chargers
CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, Samantha Johnson said regional EV owners typically find it easier to adapt their homes to charge their cars.
"Those who have a standalone house certainly have an advantage, it's very easy to charge from home at the moment," Ms Johnson said.
She said an increase in the number of public charging stations in the regions is vital, so that EV owners who can't charge at home aren't caught out.
"It's a focus for the government to roll out that public charging infrastructure, so that those in holiday homes or apartments can have access to charging out in the streets or not too far away," she said.
She said the federal government's National EV Charging Network aims to curb range anxiety as electric vehicles become more popular in Australia.
The $39.3 million program will build 117 fast charging stations on national highways across the country, ensuring drivers can access a public charging station every 150 kilometres.
"Certainly, no one should be having extension cords coming out of their holiday homes or apartments to their car for safety reasons." Ms Johnson said.
Gina Meyers hopes to renovate her home and install a charger next year.
"At our old house it cost a little under $2,000, but it's a cost we're prepared to carry for this."
The couple described it as minor compromise that is outweighed by the long-term benefits.
"We're paying about a third, maybe a quarter in electricity costs that we would've paid in petrol costs," Andrew Perry said.
"There's no way I'd go back."