Title
a. Receive a presentation from staff on the County’s proposed electric vehicle charging station policy; and,
b. Consider recommending that the Board of Supervisors authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to opt in to necessary terms and conditions to use the ChargePoint platform for electric vehicle charging station use, payment, and monitoring; and,
c. Consider recommending that the Board of Supervisors direct staff to set a consistent electric vehicle charging rate of $.4311/kwh for level 2 charging stations and $.7524/kwh for level 3 direct current fast charging stations; and,
d. Consider recommending that the Board of Supervisors direct that Public Works, Facilities, Parks and County Administrative Office staff restrict the usage of existing charging stations that are not payment enabled to County staff usage or disable them temporarily to avoid a gift of public funds; and,
e. Consider directing staff to return to the Alternative Energy & Environment Committee after at least one year of paid electric vehicle charging station data has been collected to consider revising cost of charging; and,
f. Provide additional direction to staff as needed.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Alternative Energy and Environment Committee:
a. Receive a presentation from staff on the County’s proposed electric vehicle charging station policy; and,
b. Recommend that the Board of Supervisors authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to opt in to necessary terms and conditions to use the ChargePoint platform for electric vehicle charging station use, payment, and monitoring; and,
c. Recommend that the Board of Supervisors direct staff to set a consistent electric vehicle charging rate of $.4311/kwh for level 2 charging stations and $.7524/kwh for level 3 direct current fast charging stations; and,
d. Recommend that the Board of Supervisors direct Public Works, Facilities, Parks and County Administrative Office staff restrict the usage of existing charging stations that are not payment enabled to County staff usage or disable them temporarily to avoid a gift of public funds; and,
e. Direct staff to return to the Alternative Energy & Environment Committee after at least one year of paid electric vehicle charging station data has been collected to consider revising cost of charging; and,
f. Provide additional direction to staff as needed.
SUMMARY:
Staff recommend that the Alternative Energy & Environment Committee receive an update on the County’s proposed electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) payment policy. This is increasingly relevant to the County due to the 53 Level 2 charging ports and 4 Level 3 direct current fast charger (DCFC) ports being installed as part of the solar projects at 168 W. Alisal St, 1590 Moffett St, and Natividad Medical Center.
Additionally, the County has several older EVCS installed that cannot connect to payment platforms because of their outdated hardware. Staff recommend taking these stations offline until they can be replaced or restricting these chargers to County usage to avoid a “gift of public funds” scenario.
DISCUSSION:
The County is in the process of bringing online 17 level 2 charging ports and 4 DCFC level 3 ports at168 W. Alisal St, 12 level 2 ports at 1590 Moffett St, and 24 level 2 ports at Natividad Medical Center as part of ongoing solar projects. These level 2 chargers are ChargePoint models while the level 3 chargers are FreeWire units purchased as part of another County project. All sites require EVCS installation as part of code requirements. Due to the existing ChargePoint chargers across County sites and ongoing contracts with ChargePoint, staff recommend limiting EVCS infrastructure to ChargePoint models and software to reduce contract and administrative complexity. The FreeWire chargers are being enabled to operate on the ChargePoint software to enable payment capabilities. Utilizing the ChargePoint platform will require the County to agree to and opt in to the Cloud Subscription Terms and Conditions and Annex: ChargePoint Station Cloud Services attached to this report. These provisions have been reviewed by the Information Technology Department and are suitable to County needs.
Previously this committee provided direction to set the cost of electric vehicle (EV) charging at a cost neutral rate to the County, but not a profit driving mechanism. To do this, staff have engaged ARC Alternatives to develop a tool to assist the County determine a price to charge for EVCS use and to research other jurisdictions’ EVCS rates. This memo is attached to this report under EV Charging Implementation Memo Final.
Based on inputs including the cost of energy, cloud services, maintenance plans, and an estimated replacement budget, staff recommend charging $.4311/kwh for level 2 charging and $.7524/kwh for level 3 charging corresponding to the average cost neutral rates identified in the memorandum. This pricing is based on a series of assumptions because actual usage of these chargers is unknown. Staff therefore recommend revising these charging rates after a year of operational data is available. Further, these chargers will see greater potential to be revenue neutral as more County staff and members of the public transition to EVs. From the County’s standpoint, this will assist in meeting the County’s climate action goals and reduce operational costs of the County fleet by reducing the amount of gasoline purchased by the County.
To reduce complexity, staff recommend using these rates at all County chargers that are payment enabled. Additionally, staff recommend restricting public access or shutting down EVCS that are not enabled for payment to avoid a “gift of public funds” by giving away free electricity to the public. As part of another initiative, staff are pursuing the replacement of these level 2 chargers to re-enable public usage of these chargers.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Staff have collaborated with the Public Works, Facilities, and Parks to establish a rate for EV charging and to provide a recommendation for existing chargers that are not payment enabled. Auditor-Controller’s Office reviewed the contract but does not agree to the non-standard payment provisions. The Information and Technology Department has reviewed the Cloud Subscription Terms and Conditions and Annex: ChargePoint Station Cloud Services.
FINANCING:
There is no budgetary impact of this item at this time.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
_X_ Economic Development
_X_ Administration
_X_ Health & Human Services
_X_ Infrastructure
___ Public Safety
Prepared by: Cora Panturad, Sustainability Program Manager x5338
Approved by: Debbie Paolinelli, Assistant County Administrative Officer x5309
Attachments:
EV Charging Implementation Memo Final
Cloud Subscription Terms and Conditions
Annex: ChargePoint Station Cloud Services