BOARD MEETING DATE: February 7, 2003
AGENDA NO. 26

Status Report on Contract Execution for Public EV Charging Equipment and Signage Replacement to Help Coordinate Public Charging With Vehicle Technology; and Maintain a Limited Network of Compatible Public Charging

SYNOPSIS:

Subsequent to the January 2003 Board meeting, an automaker announced significant reduction of EVs to be placed in 2003. Some EVs will be sold and have been sold, and the EVs on the road today are expected to remain on the road in southern California for several years. After carefully reviewing the expected EV usage in the next few years, the availability of charging stations, and the desire to promote plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the future, staff proposes to move forward with the acquisition and installation of 25 small paddle inductive chargers as approved by the Board on January 10, 2003.

COMMITTEE:

Technology, January 24, 2003, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file status report, and authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with Clean Fuel Connection, Inc., for public EV charging equipment and signage replacement in an amount not to exceed $100,000 total, or $4,000 per charger including installation, from the Clean Fuels Fund.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

Although there has been no official press release at the time, Toyota added the following information to its website after the January 10, 2003 Board meeting adjourned:
"Toyota Motor Corporation will discontinue production of the RAV4 Electric Vehicle worldwide in the spring of 2003. Therefore, we will not be able to fulfill additional requests from individuals who placed their names on the internet information request list after November 15, 2002. All MY '03 vehicles have already been sold to customers who placed an order on the RAV4 EV internet order system and finalized it with a deposit at a dealership".

Nissan Altra EV and Hypermini, Toyota RAV4 EV and ecom, and GM EV1 electric vehicles (utilizing an adapter) can use small paddle inductive (SPI) chargers. New Nissan and Toyota EVs must use SPI chargers since their models have small charge ports. There are approximately 1,000 electric vehicles currently placed in our district, and about half can only use the SPI chargers. About 150 additional EVs (RAV4 EVs already ordered and Altra EVs) are expected to be placed in our district in 2003. GM EV1s are being removed from California as their current leases expire, but Toyota sold or leased over 200 RAV4 EVs in 2002 and intends to maintain current RAV4 EV leases in California (approximately 1200) for five years (which is their current powertrain warranty period). Toyota vehicle leases are not closed ended, and drivers may purchase their vehicle at the end of the lease.

Gasoline-fueled hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are commercially available from major Japanese automobile manufacturers, and several other automakers have announced models to be released in the next few years. As the market for HEVs grows and the attributes of electric drive enable new features, the range of hybrid products available will increase. Plug-in HEVs enable features such as increased pure-EV mode, which has been identified as a positive attribute by some existing hybrid vehicle drivers, in addition to increased zero emission miles traveled which is an air quality priority. Support for electric vehicle charging infrastructure can enable future plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Proposal

There are currently about 70 public sites with about 160 SPI chargers within AQMD. There are about 300 public charging sites with large paddle inductive (LPI) chargers and no SPI chargers. At sites with multiple LPI chargers and no SPI chargers, it is proposed that no more than two LPI chargers per site will be replaced with SPI chargers. Staff recommends priority be placed on enabling small paddle charging at as many high priority locations as possible, without impacting the availability of the large paddle charging preferred by current EV1 drivers. At least 25 SPI chargers will be added at high priority sites using selection criteria including high visibility destination, EV driver input regarding frequency of and potential for site use, maintenance of a distributed network of EV charging especially along major transportation corridors, previous MSRC funding, replacement of out-of warranty chargers, and site owner cooperation.

The cost to replace one pedestal mounted LPI charger with a pedestal mounted SPI charger including labor is estimated at $3500 - $4000. Cost variation includes whether the charger was wall mounted, if site rework/rewiring is required to meet current codes and warranty requirements, and whether replacement signage is required. This proposal would provide funds for at least 25 chargers. Due to currently limited charger availability, it is expected that it will take 6-12 months for charger installation. A cap of $4000 per charger replaced is proposed so that cost-effectiveness is one of the criteria used to prioritize charger replacement.

Addition of small paddle inductive chargers at strategic existing public charging locations will help meet demand for small paddle inductive charging. Replacement of missing, broken, or defaced signs will be considered on a case-by-case basis, if necessary to encourage driver access.

AQMD will work with stakeholders including EV drivers, auto manufacturers, charger manufacturer, charging equipment distributor, local electric utilities, public charging site providers, and other government agencies to prioritize charger replacement.

AQMD staff will provide a status update on EV charging including location and number of chargers and any signage replaced with this funding.

Benefits to AQMD

The proposed project is included in the March 2002 update of the Technology Advancement plan under Project 2002CFM5-2, Development and Demonstration of Fast and Innovative Charging Systems for Power Storage for Electric or Hybrid Electric Vehicles. By providing funds for public charging needs, AQMD is demonstrating support for zero emission vehicles on the road in southern California today, as well as encouragement for potential advanced electric and plug-in hybrid electric technologies in order to help achieve local clean air goals.

Sole Source Justification

Section VIII(B)(2) of the procurement Policy and Procedure identifies four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. This request for a sole source award is made under provision B.2.c.; "the desired services are available from only the sole-source..," specifically B.2.c.(3) "contractor has ownership of key assets required for project performance."

CFCI has the sole distributorship of small paddle inductive chargers from the sole current charger manufacturer, TAL.

Resource Impact

Sufficient funds are available in the FY 2002-03 Budget for upgrade of selected public charging locations. The total amount of AQMD funding will not exceed $100,000, with a per charger cost including installation not to exceed $4,000.
 

Equipment	Total Cost
Approximately 25 chargers @ $4,000 maximum each	up to $100,000

Sufficient funds are available in the from the Clean Fuels Fund, established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code Sections 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code Section 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.

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