Ampol winds back plans to roll out electric car chargers due to “congested grid”, as profit takes a knock
Just a few weeks ago the fuel company was announcing plans to open up 300 charging bays by year's end.
Fuel station giant Ampol is dialling back plans to have rolled out 300 electric vehicle (EV) charging bays by the end of this year, citing problems connecting to the grid.
Ampol CEO Matt Halliday said the retailer would fall short on its plans to expand the number of EV charging bays from 92 to 300 by the end of this year.
The company blamed difficulties obtaining access to power lines in a congested grid which is already struggling to cope with an influx of renewable energy generation, reports the Australian Financial Review.
At the same time, Ampol slashed its interim dividend by more than a third to 60c a share as it reported its net profit for the first half of the year fell by 29 per cent to $233.7 million.
The walk-back comes just a couple of weeks after Ampol, which operates 1800 service stations around the country, announced plans to install more than 200 extra fast chargers after receiving a $100 million grant from the Federal Government.
Currently Ampol has 92 charging bays at 41 sites, up from 82 at the start of 2024. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Halliday claims an additional 36 bays are awaiting power.
According to data provided by the office of Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the number of EV chargers in Australia has almost doubled in less than 18 months to approximately 900 as of March this year.
At the end of July, Ampol confirmed it had also entered into a memorandum of understanding with Graincorp to explore the feasibility of a deal on supplying renewable fuels in Australia.
It follows an announcement by the fuel firm last year that it would begin trialling a 20 per cent biodiesel blend by supplying it to the truck fleet of Australian building and construction firm Hanson.
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