We finally bit the bullet and added an electric vehicle to our household on the Northside of Brisbane (Moreton Bay). Like most Queenslanders, my first thought was that our power bills would vanish because we live in the Sunshine State. I figured we would just plug in during the day and drive for free. But after digging into our AGL bill and looking at our old solar contract, I realised that the common wisdom is actually wrong for people in our position. We are generally using the EV for shorter trips, travelling with a EV over longer distances is a subject for a different article.
Finding the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland is not as straightforward as it seems, especially if you are lucky enough to be on a legacy solar plan (Solar Bonus Scheme (SBS)). We have been running the numbers on everything from our 2kW GoodWe solar system to the local BP pulse chargers, and the results were a proper eye opener. If you are trying to work out the most cost effective way to keep your EV on the road without blowing the budget, here is what I have learnt from our first months of “boots on the ground” testing.
The Queensland solar bonus scheme trap
If you have lived in South East Queensland for a while, you might still be on the legacy 44c Solar Bonus Scheme. We are, and it completely flips the “charge during the day” advice on its head. Most EV owners are told to use their solar because their feed in tariff is only 5c or 10c. For us, every kilowatt hour of solar we “use” in the car is a kilowatt hour we do not sell back to the grid for 48c. That is the 44c government rebate plus our 4c AGL retailer credit.
When I looked at our 2kW GoodWe inverter during a cracking sunny day, I saw we were making plenty of power. But our “direct plugin” charger draws about 2.4kW. This means even in peak sun, our small solar system cannot actually cover the full draw of the car. We would be using up our 48c credits and still buying extra power from the grid at standard daytime rates.
For anyone on this legacy scheme, using solar to charge your car is like putting premium 98 fuel into a rusty old mower. It is a massive waste of high value energy that could be better used as a credit on your bill. In our case, the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland is definitely not using our own solar panels during the day.
Is the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland hiding at work?
My wife has been testing the chargers at her workplace, which use the Exploren software. This is a common setup for many office buildings and hospitals around the Moreton Bay region. It is incredibly convenient to plug in while she is at her desk, but the cost can be a bit of a mixed bag depending on how the employer has set it up.
From what we have seen so far, these workplace chargers usually sit somewhere between 25c and 40c per kWh.
The Pros of Workplace Charging: It is convenient and usually cheaper than using our high value home solar.
The Cons of Workplace Charging: You are still paying significantly more than the best off peak rates available at home.
If your employer offers charging as a free perk, then you definitely have struck gold! But if you are paying through an app like Exploren, it is best treated as a backup rather than your primary source of fuel. It is certainly better than the daytime rates at home, but it is not the winner in the ultimate race for the lowest cost for the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland.
Public fast chargers at BP and Ampol
Sometimes you just need a quick top up, especially if you are heading up to the Sunny Coast or stuck in traffic on the Bruce Highway. We have a BP and an Ampol nearby that offer “Ultra Fast” EV charging. These are the big 150kW units that can put a decent amount of range into the battery in about fifteen minutes. The catch is that they have you waiting, so you’ll head in for a coffee or a pick up an quick energy drink while you wait.
However, you pay a massive premium for that speed of charge. Most of these fast chargers in Queensland are now charging around 70c to 80c per kWh.
BP Pulse: Often around 70c to 75c
Ampol AmpCharge: Usually sits in the 69c to 79c range.
While it is great to have the option, this is by far the most expensive way to power your car. It is nearly nine times the price of our best home charging option. I reckon these should be reserved strictly for road trips or genuine emergencies where you cannot make it home because you hadn’t planned your charge properly for the km you needed to drive.
Why the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland is definitely at midnight
This is where things get interesting for EV owners in Brisbane and particularly Moreton Bay residents. AGL offers a specific plan called the “Night Saver EV” plan. It is designed specifically for people who can wait until the middle of the night to charge. There might be other energy providers with a similar offer, so shop around, research and ask questions if needed, we are using AGL for now so I’m using them for this case study.
The rate is a tiny 8c per kWh, but there is a catch. It only applies between 12:00 am and 6:00 am.
A lot of people think “night” starts as soon as the sun goes down or maybe at 10:00 pm. On this plan, if you plug in at 10:00 pm, you are paying your standard flat rate (which is usually around 30c to 33c) for the first two hours. To actually get the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland, you have to use the timer in your car to make sure it does not start drawing power until 12:05 am or you will be charged more.
One massive benefit of this plan is that the 8c rate applies to your whole house, not just the car. This means if you set your dishwasher or washing machine to run after midnight, you are saving money on those as well. Bonus!
Now onto an important tip, it may sound like this is too good to be true, but one mistake or wrong piece of information from your provider might end with you losing your rebate from the QLD Solar Bonus Scheme.
Don’t lose your 44c solar bonus by switching
While the 8c rate sounds like a dream, you must be careful not to trigger a “tripwire” that loses you that lucrative 44c solar credit. The Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme is legislated until July 2028, but you have to play by the rules to keep it.
- Keep the account name the same: Do not change the name on the power bill when you switch plans.
- Inverter capacity: Do not upgrade your solar system size at the same time as you change to an EV plan.
- The Meter Move: If you need a smart meter installed for the EV plan, ensure AGL processes it as a “meter replacement” and not a “new connection” with Energex.
Important Note: Before you sign anything, call the AGL solar team (or your provider if you’re working through with them). Explicitly ask them to confirm in writing that switching to the Night Saver EV plan will not void your 44c SBS eligibility. It is better to spend ten minutes on the phone now than to lose thousands of dollars in solar credits over the next two years. This worse case scenario could have you walking around outside during a massive Brisbane storm listening to Shannon Noll or Moving Pictures “What About Me” on repeat, trying to forget about how good the rebate was until you changed your plan with our researching or making a few phone calls.
Final verdict on the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland
After looking at all the data from my/our own experience to date, the winner is clear. If you want to run your EV for the lowest possible cost, you need to “Sell the Sun and Buy the Night” (T-Shirts available soon).
To help you visualise the difference, I have put together this comparison based on our standard 2.4kW plugin home charger. This shows exactly how much you are spending every hour your car is plugged in.
| Charging Location | Power Source | Real Cost per kWh | Cost per Hour (2.4kW) |
| Home (Midnight to 6am) | AGL Night Saver | 8c | $0.19 |
| Workplace | Exploren App | ~25c to 40c | $0.60 to $0.96 |
| Home (Standard) | AGL Flat Rate | ~33c | $0.79 |
| Home (Sunny Day) | Solar (Opportunity Cost) | 48c | $1.15 |
| The Local Servo | BP Pulse or Ampol | ~75c | $1.80 |
Top Tips for Queensland EV Owners
- Export your solar: If you are on the 44c scheme, do not use it for the car. Sell it for 48c and buy night power for 8c
- Check your eligibility: Always confirm with AGL or your energy provider, that a plan change won’t kill your solar bonus.
- Use a timer: Set your car to start charging at 12:05 am to hit the 8c window. Make sure the timer is rated to handle the output.
Keep the “Servo EV Charger” for road trips: Fast chargers are for convenience, not for daily use. Make sure to get a coffee or energy drink while you’re waiting.
Running an electric car in Queensland can be incredibly cheap if you know how to play the energy market and do the research. By shifting our charging to the night to start with, then potentially getting onto the Night Saver EV Plan and protecting our solar credits, we are actually making our car pay for itself over time.
Our next big puzzle to work through is getting closer, when do we upgrade our solar before the SBS rebate ends, is it worth getting batteries for the house, what will the cost vs reward be, will it pay for itself over time, land what brand do we use (GoodWe, Fronius, SunGrow, Solar Edge, Enphase or another option). Lots of questions to be answered, and I will get through them here over time.
For now, we are just trying to find the cheapest way to charge an electric car in Queensland, and I think we have, for our set up and situation anyway.
