Electric vehicle drivers are raising concerns about EV charging station etiquette after someone in Launceston disconnected and damaged another driver's cable while the car was still charging.
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The disgruntled driver took to social media about the incident, which occurred at the Plugshare fast charger located at the Launceston.
They said removal of the cable resulted in damage to the locking mechanism.
"My charging stopped prior to reaching the set limit. Thought it a bit odd so returned to the car to find my charge session had been stopped by another user, and the cable removed and plugged into their car (Kona)," the driver wrote.
"I thought it was totally out of place and rude, despite the Kona owner suggesting otherwise."
'Inconsiderate': Etiquette at EV charging stations
Several people agreed with the driver about the rudeness of the act.
One person said it was totally unacceptable behaviour, another labelled the offender inconsiderate, while another suggested retaliation by pressing the emergency stop button.
But others raised issues with drivers hogging chargers by charging EVs to 100 per cent, forcing other drivers to wait longer than needed, giving rise to a potential need to disconnect.
Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) state chair Jon Ettershank said best etiquette would be to never touch another person's charging cable.
However, he said that most EVs are fitted with locks so that charging cables cannot be removed.
"In 90 per cent of cars the vehicle has to be unlocked," he said.
"Quite often it requires a button to unlock the charging point."
Adequate EV charging stations to meet demand
Mr Ettershank said he only knew of regular EV charging station queues at Campbell Town, which should soon be alleviated by the introduction of commercially-owned chargers.
He said the commercial roll-out of chargers was keeping up with the uptake of EV ownership.
"Generally we don't experience queuing," Mr Ettershank said.
"We have chargers in locations that were never going to be viable for commercial operators for some time. As a consequence of that, we have the luxury of a pretty good charging network in Tassie."
He said close to 10 per cent of new vehicles in most states were electric.
"That number is increasing exponentially. We are about to hit the steep part of the curve and once you get to 10 per cent it really starts to accelerate."
