PROPOSAL:

Approve Portion of ZEV/ULEV Program within FY 1997-99 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program and Authorize Execution of Contract with California Electric Transportation Coalition

SYNOPSIS:

The Board’s April 11, 1997 approval in concept of the FY 1997-99 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program included an $8.55 million ZEV/ULEV Program. At its August 28, 1997 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved $8,000 of co-funding toward an EV survey currently being conducted by the California Electric Transportation Coalition (CalETC), in coordination with a consortium of private/public agencies and automobile manufacturers, to assist in determining the future placement of EV charging stations. The MSRC’s allocation of AB 2766 Discretionary Funds are intended to complement an existing $40,000 contract between the AQMD’s Technology Advancement office and CalETC. The consortium also contributed equivalent dollars or in-kind contributions. The MSRC requests Board approval of this effort as part of the FY 1997-99 Work Program.

COMMITTEE:

Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review, August 28, 1997, Approved Unanimously

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

1. Approve Portion of ZEV/LEV Program within the FY 1997-99 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program for participation in the Southern California EV Infrastructure Research Survey; and

2. Authorize the Chairman of the Board to Execute an Agreement with the California Electric Transportation Coalition in an amount not to exceed $8,000.

Mayor John Longville
Chair, MSRC

Background

In September 1990 Assembly Bill 2766 was signed into law (Health & Safety Code Sections 44220-44247) authorizing the imposition of an annual $4 motor vehicle registration fee to fund the implementation of programs exclusively to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. AB 2766 provides that 30 percent of the annual $4 vehicle registration fee subvened to the AQMD be placed into an account to be allocated pursuant to a work program developed and adopted by the MSRC and approved by the AQMD Governing Board.

The ARB and the 1997 AQMP call for the accelerated introduction of ZEVs as an air quality attainment strategy. Consequently, when the MSRC developed its two-year, $26 million FY 1997-99 Work Program, which was approved in concept on April 11, 1997, by the Board, it included an $8.55 million ZEV/ULEV Program. The ZEV/ULEV Program includes four components:

• Signage Implementation ($500,000) - to ensure success of the EV/Quick Charge Program, the MSRC’s FY 1996-97 contract with The Planning Center as its Outreach Coordinator will be amended to provide for the preparation of signage and marketing plans and coordination of those plans with EV charging station owners throughout the Basin, followed by implementation of those plans, such that all public EV charging stations will be identified on freeway, street and road signs;

• Quick Charge Phase II ($2,050,000)- a review of Phase I of the EV/Quick Charge Program will be conducted, after which a consultant will be retained to work with EV charging station owners for Phase II of the program. Phase II will provide $2 million in co-funding towards necessary infrastructure (e.g., retrofitting existing units or constructing new stations).

• ZEV Buydown Phase II ($3,000,000) - to sustain the accelerated deployment of EVs, additional funding will be available in Phase II to continue the $5,000 manufacturers buydown incentive.

• Alternative Fuel ULEV/LEV Incentive ($3,000,000) - similar to the ZEV buydown, $3,000 and $1,000, respectively, will be available toward the incremental cost of ARB certified alternatively fueled ULEV and LEV passenger vehicles.

Proposal

Because of the unique fueling requirements and limited travel range of EVs, the infrastructure needed to charge and extend vehicle range is very important. Existing market research indicates the availability of away-from-home charging dramatically affects EV purchase consideration. With the recent and planned introduction of EVs from General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Chrysler, public charging facilities are needed to fuel EVs and to encourage EV purchases. EV stakeholders (e.g., electric utilities, auto makers, and government) decided that an infrastructure study would provide a viable means to identify EV charging sites that would be most visible and useful for EV drivers and promote and encourage EV ownership. Consequently, a consortium of EV stakeholders have come together to fund the Southern California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Research Survey to identify public charging sites for EVs, and contracted with CalETC to perform the survey. CalETC, along with its subcontractor Consumer Insights, Inc., designed a survey based on seven separate Southern California market regions to acquire data on where consumers routinely travel (travel destinations for working, dining, recreation, shopping, etc.). A total of 16,800 surveys will be sent out to respondents in Southern California. Gift certificates to select restaurants have been offered to ensure a minimum of 300 responses from each marketing region for a 2,100 minimum overall participation. Consumer Insights will tabulate and analyze survey data, assembly six focus groups, and analyze and produce a report on the data from the six focus groups. Survey efforts began in August with a final report to be completed by mid-November 1997. The survey will yield a list of geographical areas which would most benefit from the installation and implementation of EV charging infrastructure.

The MSRC’s EV "Quick Charge" Subcommittee has been working with CalETC and requested several enhancements of the survey. These enhancements resulted in an overall cost increase for the research survey and a shortfall in funding. The cost for the survey is $104,214.81, with a funding shortfall of almost $10,000. On August 28, 1997, the MSRC unanimously approved an $8,000 allocation from the monies set aside for the FY 1997-99 ZEV/ULEV Program to participate in the EV survey. These funds will complement an existing $40,000 contract between the AQMD’s Technology Advancement office and CalETC, while the remaining monies have been provided by EV stakeholders.

Sole Source Justification

Section II, Step 3(C) of the Consultant Selection Policy and Procedure identifies four provisions under which a sole-source award may be justified: 1) cost to prepare documents exceeds cost for consultant; 2) delay would result in the endangerment of public health; 3) services are only available from sole source; and 4) other circumstances exist identifying sole source as in the best interests of the AQMD. This request for sole-source award is made under provision #4.

It is in the best interests of the MSRC and AQMD to execute a sole-source contract with CalETC. CalETC, a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation, was established in 1991 to promote the development and commercialization of electric transportation in California. Its members include utilities, EV component manufacturers, and advanced-battery developers, and it is associated on the national level with the Electric Transportation Coalition. CalETC acts as an advocate and resource for its members to promote EV market development, education, technology research, and standards development. CalETC’s subcontractor, Consumer Insights, Inc., has the most extensive experience of any firm with EV consumer research and employs a focus-group moderator who is highly skilled in EV and EV infrastructure issues. The firm has also successfully conducted a similar study in the Sacramento market region which reduces the actual cost of the project by about 10%.

Finally, the survey results will assist the MSRC in determining where its future focus should be placed relative to its ZEV/ULEV Program.

Resource Impacts

Health & Safety Code Section 44243(2)(c) requires the AQMD to deposit the discretionary fund revenues "in an account to be used, pursuant to Section 44244, to provide grants to fund projects for the exclusive purpose of reducing air pollution from motor vehicles." Since the monies for these projects will be drawn from this special fund, there would be no fiscal impact on the AQMD’s operational budget.

A breakdown of cost-sharing by EV stakeholders is as follows:

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