Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF CONCEPTUAL SITE PLAN, CHARGE READY TRANSPORT PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT WITH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON FOR NO-COST INSTALLATION OF UTILITY SIDE AND CUSTOMER-SIDE MAKE READY INFRASTRUCTURE AT CITY-OWNED SITE LOCATED AT 18601 S. MAIN STREET, GRANT OF EASEMENT FOR ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND CONVEYANCE OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
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I. SUMMARY
The Charge Ready Transport (CRT) program offered through Southern California Edison (SCE) is helping to grow the transportation electrification market over a five-year period by installing electric infrastructure to support charging plug-in buses, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, forklifts, and other non-road cargo handling equipment. The CTR program will also provide rebates toward the purchase of charging stations.
Under this program, SCE performs infrastructure work on the utility side and specific work on the customer side of the meter at no cost to the City. Such work includes electrical design, permitting, construction, and installation of electrical equipment such as transformers, switchgear, meters, cabinets, underground conduits, conductors, and other associated work at the site. SCE will own and maintain the electrical equipment they install through the program to ensure it remains in good working condition.
The proposed project includes “make ready” infrastructure for four (4) single-port electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as shown on the conceptual plan provided by SCE (Exhibit No. 1).
The Charge Ready Transport Program Participation Agreement (Exhibit No. 2) is attached and sets forth the terms and conditions for program participants. The City will be responsible for procuring, installing, and maintaining the EV charging equipment for a period of 10 years. There is also a program requirement that the charging equipment includes a network service and that port-level data and other information such as usage, pricing, etc. be shared with SCE. The site owner, the City in this case, is also required to grant an easement to SCE (Exhibit No. 3) at the site. Conveyance of existing electrical equipment that is not already owned by SCE may also be required.
In addition to covering the infrastructure costs, the CRT Program will provide a rebate for the charging stations, up to a certain dollar amount, based on the charging type and location. The maximum rebate for the four (4) ports in the aggregate is estimated to be $25,200.00 which will be assigned to the City’s selected vendor after the charging equipment is installed and energized.
All references in this report to “participant” refer to the City of Carson where contextually appropriate.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. APPROVE the conceptual site plan for four electric vehicle charging stations at 18601 S Main Street, Carson CA 90248.
2. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the Charge Ready Transport Program Participation Agreement with Southern California Edison (SCE) which will authorize SCE to prepare the designs and construct the make-ready infrastructure.
3. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Mayor to grant and execute a Grant of Easement and Conveyance of existing electrical equipment necessary to participate in the SCE Charge Ready Program, subject to SCE’s finalization of the exhibits and legal descriptions and approval as to form by the City Attorney.
4. AUTHORIZE staff to submit the associated SCE rebate applications and designate the City’s selected vendor as the recipient of the rebates after the electric vehicle charging equipment is installed and energized.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate, consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
The City’s public infrastructure for EV charging is inadequate to meet the growing needs of the City’s fleet. To increase the number of EV chargers, staff has applied to SCE’s Charge Ready Transport Program to receive no-cost electrical infrastructure for new EV charging stations. As a requirement of the program, the City must select a network provider and EV charger from SCE’s approved lists.
Project Description - The proposed project includes “make ready” infrastructure for four EV charging stations. Per the SCE representatives assigned to the project and the types of vehicles the City EV acquisition plan, SCE can support the installation of one - Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) and three - Level 2 (L2) charging stations.
L2 charging - medium power charging up to 7.2kW, typically delivered between 220 and 240 volts. An EV with a 60 kWh battery pack will take approximately 8 hours to charge from empty to full. L2 stations can provide 26 or more miles of driving range per hour of charge. Charging at this level is faster than a level 1 charger, making it a versatile choice for many properties.
DCFC - This is the fastest type of EV charging station, providing up to 40 miles of range for every 10 minutes of charging. DCFC is a good fit for locations where drivers need to recharge quickly to get to their destination.
How the Program Works - The CRT program provides the necessary infrastructure to support the installation of EV charging infrastructure at low- to no cost. The program also provides rebates for the purchase and installation of the charging equipment. SCE is responsible for designing and installing the supporting infrastructure, and participants are responsible for the selection, purchase, and installation of the charging equipment.
The CRT program offers two rebate options: the Charging Equipment Rebate and the Make-Ready Rebate.
1) Charging Equipment Rebate. The Charging Equipment Rebate is offered to eligible participants in order to offset a portion of the costs associated with the purchase of EV charging equipment approved by SCE. This rebate is only available to:
• Participants that will be acquiring and operating School Buses or Transit Buses anywhere in SCE’s service territory;
• Participants who install charging equipment at a project site located in a designated Disadvantaged Community where the Participant is not listed as a Fortune 1000 company.
In all cases, to be eligible for the Charging Equipment Rebate, charging equipment must be selected from SCE’s Approved Product List
The above option was selected for the four charging ports proposed as part of this staff report.
2) The Make-Ready Rebate. The second rebate option is referred to as the Make-Ready Rebate. This rebate is available to any Participant who chooses to design, procure, and install the customer side of the meter infrastructure work (also referred to as “customer side make-ready”).
The Make-Ready Rebate is intended to offset up to 80 percent of the costs that SCE would otherwise incur for performing the work.
Every Participant will have the choice to perform this work themselves and receive the rebate, or to have SCE perform the work at no cost to the participant.
More details about the program can be found here: <https://crt.sce.com/overview> and on the one-page fact sheet included as an attachment. (Exhibit No. 4)
Easements and Conveyance - A sample grant easement is provided as an exhibit. The easement allows for SCE to construct, maintain, operate, and repair any SCE-installed infrastructure on City property (in the easement area). SCE will prepare the legal description and exhibits based on the final design. The City will be required to execute and notarize easements for each site within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt. Once received, SCE will have the executed easement recorded and filed. SCE cannot move forward with any further construction-related activities until the necessary easements have been granted. Once final easements have been granted, SCE will initiate the plan check and permitting process. Other noteworthy terms of the easement are as follows:
If the charging stations are removed and removal is not part of a relocation of the equipment, with 60 days written notice, City may terminate the easement. Also, upon City’s request, SCE must relocate its facilities installed to another mutually approved area within City’s property provided that SCE has first been given an easement over such new area on terms identical to those set forth in the easement. Such relocation shall be at City’s sole cost and expense, and upon completion of the relocation, SCE will execute a quitclaim of the vacated easement on terms reasonably acceptable to both parties.
The City Council is being asked to approve the Grant of Easement now, subject to City Attorney approval as to form, with the understanding that SCE will prepare the legal description and exhibits based on the final designs.
If SCE determines that the existing electrical equipment on site is not owned by SCE, SCE may request that the equipment be transferred to SCE ownership via an SCE Conveyance form.
Program Participation Agreement - The CRT Program Participation Agreement is a standard agreement provided to all CRT applicants whose projects are approved for implementation. The terms and conditions of the agreement were developed by SCE and are regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Any requested changes would have to go through a series of steps and are unlikely to be considered from individual applicants. There are several significant provisions in the agreement that the City Council should be aware of:
The Program participant is required to purchase and install the quantity and power level of approved Charging Ports and maintain all charging equipment in good working order. The term of the agreement is 10 years from the date the charging equipment is in service. The City will receive a rebate for the purchase and installation of the charging equipment up to a predetermined amount. The City must also enter into a contract with a qualified electric vehicle charging equipment Network Service Provider approved by SCE to record and transmit EV charging usage and other data to SCE. City will also be required to indemnify SCE for any liability arising from City’s breach of the agreement or City’s acts or omissions in carrying out the agreement. It is possible for the agreement to be terminated by either City or SCE under certain circumstances described in Section 10 of the agreement. If the agreement is terminated for certain reasons, for example, such as if City removes the equipment without replacing it, the City would be required to pay (a) all costs actually incurred, or committed to be incurred, by SCE, as of the termination date, in connection with designing and deploying the infrastructure at the site; and (b) the rebate payment (if already paid). If the Charging Equipment or the Make-Ready Infrastructure, if applicable, are installed, the amount due to SCE for both (a) and (b) above will be prorated over a ten-year period, beginning from the In-Service Date of the Charging Equipment.
Important participation requirements are detailed in the attached CRT program participation agreement.
Implementation - If the City Council approves and authorizes the Mayor to execute the participation agreements with SCE, the City’s projects will shift to the formal design phase. At that point, SCE’s design consultants will develop the permit package to be submitted to the City’s Building and Safety Department for review. Once the project is permitted and approved, SCE’s contractor will perform all the construction-related activities. SCE’s anticipated timeline for completion is 6-12 months from execution of the Agreement.
Meter and TOU Rate Plan Options - Once SCE’s make-ready construction is complete and approved, City staff will work with the assigned SCE account manager to select a TOU rate plan, request service turn-on, and establish a new SCE service account for each location for the full 10-year term of service. All TOU plans feature energy charges that vary based on the time of day, the day of the week, and the season. The City will be responsible for paying all EV charging station energy costs. Since these stations will be used by City fleet vehicles, reimbursement is not anticipated.
Rebate Assignment - The charging equipment rebate amount based on 4 ports is estimated to be $25,200.00 The rebate payment will be processed by SCE after final review of the required documentation and verification of the operational status of the charging equipment. Once rebates are processed, City staff will assign rights to the rebate to the City’s approved third-party vendor as the payee in return for a lower price on the equipment.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
There is no cost to Charge Ready Transport participants for the SCE-designed and installed infrastructure work. There is a cost associated with the City’s obligation to acquire a quantity of charging equipment equivalent to the number of charging ports supported by SCE’s make-ready infrastructure during the 10-year Agreement term, however, it is anticipated that that cost will be borne by the City’s selected third-party vendor in exchange for low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) credits and the SCE rebate.
The City is eligible for SCE’s Charging Equipment Rebate, which ranges between $1,700 to $20,100 per port to cover hardware costs. The EV Charger rebate is estimated to be $25,200.00 and will be issued by SCE after the equipment is installed and energized. It is anticipated that the rebate will be assigned to the City’s selected third-party vendor to offset their costs to procure and install the electric vehicle charging equipment.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Conceptual Site Plan - Corporate Yard located at 18601 S. Main Street, Carson CA 90248 (pgs. 7-9)
2. Sample Charge Ready Transport Program Participation Agreement (pgs.10-23)
3. Sample Grant Easement (pgs. 24-26)
4. CRT - Program Fact Sheet (pg.27)
Prepared by: Reata Kulcsar, Innovation and Sustainability Manager