On Thursday, the highest price spotted in Ballarat for unleaded petrol was $1.58, while the highest price for diesel was $1.57 - it was $1.39 two months ago.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In some places, unleaded has been seen at $1.70 or higher, and the pain could continue.
Electric vehicles may be a promising alternative.
A crop of new models are about to enter the Australian market, and these cars can be charged at home overnight, potentially using solar power to keep costs even lower.
Buying an electric vehicle is a significant investment, but the new chargers would mean travel becomes significantly cheaper and greener.
On Thursday, the state government announced it will invest $2 million to build more ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers in Victoria, including at least two in Ballarat.
Built by Australian start-up Chargefox, the charger station is expected to be installed by the end of 2019.
It will add to the current charger at Sovereign Hill, and Tesla superchargers at Wendouree, opened in March last year.
There’s a broad network of “destination” Tesla chargers in the district, including in Creswick and Daylesford.
The new chargers will be accessible to any modern electric vehicle, including Tesla, and use ultra-rapid technology, able to deliver up to 400 kilometres of range in 15 minutes.
These DC chargers capable of fully charging the newest electric vehicles on the market, capable of power output of up to 350kW, and will be the fastest currently available in Australia, according to Chargefox.
Australian Electric Vehicles Association Victoria secretary Bryce Gaton said the new chargers were essential to encourage more people to consider electric vehicles.
“If you’re going to have an electric vehicle anywhere outside of metro areas, you need ultra-fast DC charging,” he said.
“Putting them every 100 or 200 kilometres, you’ve got more choices.”
The new chargers will also be installed at five other regional centres, as well as in Melbourne.
The new chargers are part of a plan to build a network between capital cities, which includes $6 million from the Federal Government.
Each charger will be supplied with 100 per cent renewable energy.
The renewable aspect is an exciting idea, according to the Committee for Ballarat’s chief executive Melanie Robertson.
The chargers are part of re-imagining transport in and around Ballarat, she said.
“This will help mainstream this technology,” she said.
“This infrastructure needs to be coming first before people can actually consider it a viable option.”
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
