At the end of November 2016, I took part in my first ChargeNet road trip to officially open our latest stations in Napier, Palmerston North and Featherston.
First stop was Rotorua. Yes, there’s already a Unison PowerPark charger in Rotorua connected to our network, but we had to top up in order to reach the east coast where an informal opening and get together was happening at the Dickens Street car park in Napier.
It was a good friendly crowd that showed – partly made up of EV owners and then a few people who were interested in EV’s.
Of the cars that came, there was a Tesla, BMW i3, a Renault Kangoo and the ever-popular Nissan Leaf.
It was great to meet some of the EV owners, or more correctly the champions. I guess I have underestimated some of these owners, as there are so many charge points in Auckland but sometimes only one in provincial NZ towns and cities. Travelling down the line made me realise how much we need these chargers right across the country.
Steve West, CEO ChargeNet NZ, standing in front of a 1916 Detroit electric vehicle kindly loaned by Brian Rankine.
After dinner with Powerco in Napier, we had an early start to Palmerston North. Shortly after we arrived, we discovered that there was the Palmerston North Graduation happening at the same time. You can see from the photo above there is a Marching Band in the background.
During the short ceremony, Sue Pugmire, a local EV champion, shared her EV journey. The family started with a hybrid vehicle and then moved to the Leaf. Her extended family thought they were nuts but they persevered. They picked the car up in Auckland and drove all the way to Palmy; stopping to charge at friends and campgrounds along the way.
After a quick bite to eat, we started off for Featherston, where the next official opening was taking place. The mayor had chosen to speak at this opening and a few people headed up from Wellington.
After that, it was homeward bound. Thanks to PowerCo, three more towns have access to ChargeNet’s network, making EV ownership just that little bit more accessible to NI Kiwis. 
