We’re taking charge!
We're playing our part to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles by providing fast and rapid chargers across the region.
Located throughout the Waikato, the chargers are compatible with any electric vehicle and they're helping to meet a rising demand.
Transport is one of the biggest opportunities we have in the energy sector to help New Zealand achieve a low-carbon economy.
The Waikato is one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand and we need to provide our communities with innovative energy solutions - like electric chargers - that will support this growth.
By investing in new technology and assets, we'll be able to meet the increasing demand for EVs.
We.EV - Driving the Future
As the world’s energy focus shifts to renewables and long-term sustainability – it’s good to know looking ahead is already a big part of what drives us in the first place.
With world-class energy expertise, we’re excited to be at the forefront of the EV evolution and working with ambitious organisations to shape a better, more renewable future – together.
Helpful Advice for EV Owners
A round up of useful articles and case studies for EV owners and those looking to make the EV transition.
Articles include information about the length of time it takes to charge an EV, EV charger maintenance, smart charging and bidirectional charging.
WEL Networks' Public Fast Chargers
From April 2021 to March 2022 across our 25 public EV chargers within WEL's network we’ve saved approximately 723,000kg of CO2e.
We’ve also delivered approximately 745,000 kWh. This translates to over 4.5 million km of EV range.
Public Charging Locations
A comprehensive list of electric vehicle charger locations throughout New Zealand.
Helping drive the EV revolution
At WEL we’re embracing and leading the way in the electric vehicle revolution. We commissioned New Zealand’s first 100% electric elevated work platform truck and already have EV pool cars. Now we’re taking the next steps to help drive the uptake of electric cars by replacing our ICE small vehicle fleet with EVs.
We’re doing this now to drive down our carbon emissions from fuel consumption. We’ve looked at the complete life-cycle emissions for electric cars compared to ICE cars and they already come out on top. A study found complete life-cycle emissions for electric cars to be 18%* lower than fossil-fuelled cars and the gap is expected to grow further.
With a high percentage of renewable electricity generation in New Zealand, it also turns out that we can enjoy greater EV upstream emission benefits than most other countries. In comparison to Australia, using an EV here is seven-times* better in terms of upstream carbon emissions.
Another benefit of electric cars is the fact they only have around 20 moving parts. While it’s true that electric car batteries have a relatively high carbon footprint, EVs don’t require the almost 2,000 moving parts that ICE vehicles contain, all with associated manufacturing, use, maintenance and end-of-life emissions. Plus EV batteries can be recycled and repurposed, with technological gains ongoing in this area, like those being made by the Battery Industry Group (BIG).
So we think EVs are the only way to go moving forward and we’re also working hard to ensure our network is ready as EV adoption in Aotearoa shifts gear.
* Source: New Zealand Government, Science Learning Hub website