Electric vehicle charging station on its way

Hadleigh Reid (left) and Josh Chandulal-Mackay ... working behind the scenes to bring electric vehicle charging to Whanganui.

They represent the ratepayers of Whanganui and in some ways they represent the future too.

The city's two youngest Whanganui District councillors Hadleigh Reid and Josh Chandulal-Mackay are working busily behind the scenes to bring an electric vehicle recharging station to the district.

According to Mr Reid electric vehicles are "inevitable and awesome".

He has first-hand knowledge.

Mr Reid converted his Toyota MR2 to electric "or should I say some friends did it for me."

While there may only be a handful of electric vehicles in Whanganui for the time being, now was the time to be getting the infrastructure in place, they said.

"It's not so much about providing a service for the vehicles that exist today but everybody knows electric vehicles are the future," Mr Chandulal-Mackay said.

"It's a chicken and egg thing."

Mr Reid said it was also about enhancing tourism.

While local e-car owners can charge their vehicles at home, a recharging station will help make Whanganui a more desirable destination for out of town e-car owners.

"New Plymouth and Palmerston North both have recharging stations so having one in Whanganui will link in with those two regions," Mr Reid said.

The pair had been working with various people and organisations including ChargeNet which will install the station at no cost.

The two just have to sort out a suitable location and get the project through council, including resource consent. Moutoa Quay near the iSite centre is one option they are investigating, while the Liffiton St MacDonald's is another.

"Council's role will be around providing the infrastructure - signage and car parking. The costs are negligible and it's a pretty good deal," Mr Reid said.

If all goes well they hope to have a charging station in place within a few months.

The ChargeNet NZ network is being installed at an average of one every two weeks, with 100 stations due to be deployed by the end of next year. Currently there are 31 stations operational with another 11 under construction.