EV Charging fine
A 78 year old man has been fined $500 for plugging his electric vehicle into a council power box in WA’s Great Southern region.
In a tweet posted this week, WA police said: “It is illegal to use anything other than approved service points to recharge you e-vehicles. A motorist stealing electricity was charged and issued a $500 fine. Hidden CCT footage captured it all.”
The Polestar driver didn’t get the charge they were expecting… pic.twitter.com/c2Xys1vt0K
— ☀️Rob&Rob (@robrobdean) March 8, 2023
In what appears to be a covert operation, police used a hidden camera and diverted resources to catch the non-polluting driver.
There’s a history
Chair of the WA Tesla owners club and AEVA committee member Rob Dean said there’s a history of the police cracking down on illegal charging in the area.
“In 2018 a Tesla Model S driver was about to plug into a council power box but was warned by police not to,” he said.
“The Shire isn’t against EVs, they actually have an EV charger at the council building but there is a sign saying ‘please ask permission’ before using.
Mt Barker Police shared a photo taken from the hidden camera footage on twitter, but the tweet was later deleted.
In another tweet, which was also later deleted, WA police said: “To clarify. If you want to recharge your e-vehicle. DON’T steal the electricity to do so. Police will prosecute in EVERY instance. This recharge cost the vehicle owner a $500 fine, stealing from the Shire. Be better.”
Mt Barker Police fine EV driver
The social media reaction was mixed with some questioning the severity of the $500 fine saying the the cost of charging would have been much much less but “using electricity without permission is not ok.”
It’s unsure if the driver had been warned by police previously.
Keyword: Police use hidden camera to fine elderly man charging EV from council power box