STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date:
October 13, 2026
BUSINESS
11 SUBJECT: AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FLEET ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING
IMPLEMENTATION
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute contracts with PowerFlex Systems for the design, construction and 10-year operation and maintenance period for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including Corporation Yard $3,480,246, City Hall – General Fleet: $1,214,977, and City Hall – Police Department: $727,831;
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute agreements with Southern California Edison under the Charge Ready Transport Program to secure rebates for electric vehicle infrastructure, including Corporation Yard $630,334, City Hall – General Fleet: $145,146, and City Hall – Police Department: $114,675; and
3. Find that the proposed actions are exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301, 15303, 15304 and 15311.
SUMMARY OF THE MATTER
At its meeting on August 4, 2026, the City Council received a presentation from staff regarding the award of contract to PowerFlex, for installation of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at the Laguna Beach Corporation Yard and City Hall. The August 4, 2026, agenda report is provided without attachments as Attachment 1. After receiving a presentation, public comment, and discussing the item, City Council voted unanimously 5/0 to continue the item to the September 22, 2026, City Council meeting, directing staff to provide an analysis of cost of implementation compared to current costs, alternatives for more cost effectiveness, and potential public use options. This report provides additional information as requested by the City Council and responses to questions raised at the meeting are included as Attachment 2.
DISCUSSION
To identify the scope of work addressed by the recommended actions, the City’s consultant, ICF, conducted a detailed analysis of the City’s fleet operations, parking locations, and vehicle schedules to determine the type, number, and location of chargers needed. Upgrades to the City’s electrical infrastructure were identified, including transformer capacity, electrical panel sizes, and new conduit installations. These upgrades ensure that the new charging stations function reliably.
Staff issued an RFP in May 2025 for “Design, Engineering, Procurement, and Construction of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)” at City Hall and the Corp Yard. The RFP sought a qualified contractor to provide turnkey services, including project management, site design, permitting, utility coordination, procurement of EVSE, installation, commissioning, and integration of a charging management system.
Nine proposals were received in response to the RFP. Following a comprehensive evaluation, PowerFlex Systems was selected as the preferred contractor. Staff recommends award of contract to PowerFlex for the
AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FLEET ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING
IMPLEMENTATION
October 13, 2026
Corporation Yard ($3,480,246), City Hall – General Fleet: ($1,214,977), and City Hall – Police Department:
($727,831) in the forms of agreement included as Attachments 3, 4, and 5 respectively.
August 4, 2026 City Council Meeting
At its meeting on August 4, 2026, the City Council received a presentation from staff regarding the award of contract for installation of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at the Laguna Beach Corporation Yard and City Hall. After receiving the presentation, public comment, and discussing the item, the City Council voted unanimously 5/0 to continue the item to the September 22, 2026, City Council meeting, directing staff to provide an analysis of cost of implementation compared to current costs, alternatives for more cost effectiveness, and potential public use options.
Rebates and Incentives
To offset the cost of EV charging infrastructure, staff submitted applications to SCE for their Charge Ready Transport (CRT) Program. The applications covered the Corporation Yard and City Hall (General Fleet and Police Department). The applications have been approved by SCE. Following approval, SCE conducted detailed site visits and has now provided the City with draft contracts for each location (Attachments 6, 7, and 8). The rebates offered through the CRT program are as follows:
• Corporation Yard: $630,334
• City Hall – General Fleet: $145,146
• City Hall – Police Department: $114,675
Together, these rebates total $890,155, which will offset the City’s EV infrastructure costs. These incentives will support the installation of 47 EV chargers across the two sites as described below. The deadline to execute an agreement is December 31, 2026 or the rebate opportunity will be lost.
Transit and Community Services staff applied and have been awarded $250,000 through a Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) Zero-Emission Transit Bus Incentive Program. The Program supports the purchase of new battery-electric transit buses and eligible battery-electric bus chargers, with incentives of $200,000 for two (2) Class 4–6 buses, and $50,000 per charger.
Additional Trolley Charger Rebates total approximately $235,000. The recommended actions include 10 chargers that will support conversion of the City's trolleys. These chargers are eligible for an incentive of up to $23,500 per charger. Staff has confirmed with SCE that after the eligible chargers are purchased and installed, the City can apply for the rebates.
In addition to the CRT program, ICF has determined that following construction, the City could apply for the State of California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive (HVIP) Project. This incentive would be $1,110,000 and applies only to the medium and heavy-duty vehicles contemplated in the proposed recommended actions. This amount is subject to change if the scope of work is revised.
Additionally, following construction, the City can apply for the State of California’s Low Carbon Fuel
AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FLEET ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING
IMPLEMENTATION
October 13, 2026
Standard (LCFS) incentive. This incentive would be $1,462,941. This amount is subject to change if the scope of work is revised.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Staff consulted with ICF to prepare an updated cost benefit analysis based on current costs and available rebates/incentives. The detailed analysis is included as Attachment 9. The cost-benefit analysis compares the cost of transitioning the vehicles supported by the recommended actions against a “do-nothing” scenario in which the City continues to operate and replace these vehicles with comparable gasoline- and dieselpowered vehicles. In summary, the analysis demonstrates that over a 10-year period (expected EV useful life) the conversion from gasoline-and diesel- powered vehicles to electric vehicles as contemplated in the recommended actions will result in approximately $2.8 million in savings.
Public Chargers
There is a potential that some chargers included in the recommended actions would be available to the public. But this can only be accomplished where public access can be provided without redesigning the currently approved projects or affecting the existing SCE applications because making material modifications to the existing site plans would void the City's SCE applications and forfeit the CRT rebates.
The chargers planned at City Hall will be located behind a secured fence. Therefore, these chargers are not practical for public access. The chargers could, however, be made available to City employees, subject to City policies and operational requirements. To remain eligible for the CRT rebates, no site redesign is recommended because doing so would affect the existing SCE application.
The Corporation Yard presents a better opportunity for public charging. The current design includes five 30-kW dual-port DC fast chargers located within the public parking area. These chargers are being installed primarily to serve the City fleet, and fleet charging would remain their primary purpose. However, because they are already planned within the publicly accessible parking area, they could also be available to the public during periods when they are not needed by City vehicles. The 30-kW chargers are lower-power DC fast chargers and are not intended to compete with today's highest-powered public fast-charging stations.
However, they are particularly useful for visitors who are parked for one to several hours, providing a meaningful amount of charging during their visit.
PowerFlex has confirmed that they can upgrade the five chargers with credit card readers for a total incremental cost of $10,125. One potential operating approach would be to:
• Reserve the chargers for fleet use when needed:
• Allow public charging during defined window, such as 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and • Charge public users a per-kWh fee.
Assuming five public chargers, the estimated net revenue would be approximately $17,500 per year after accounting for electricity costs, payment processing, networking/software, and maintenance.
AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FLEET ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING
IMPLEMENTATION
October 13, 2026
State Mandates
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Regulation requires State and local government agencies to progressively transition applicable medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The regulation generally applies to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 8,500 pounds, as well as certain light-duty package delivery vehicles.
The City has opted to comply with the Option 2 Compliance Pathway. This pathway establishes requirements for the percentage of the City's fleet that must be zero-emission. Vehicles that are easier to electrify transition first, while more specialized vehicles are provided additional time. This provides the City with greater flexibility to determine which vehicles to transition and when, provided the overall fleet meets each applicable ZEV milestone. The table below summarizes the Option 2 Compliance Pathway.
Vehicle Group 10%
ZEV
25%
ZEV
50%
ZEV
75%
ZEV
100%
ZEV
Group 1: Box trucks, vans, two-axle buses, yard tractors, light-duty package delivery vehicles 2025 2028 2031 2033 2035
Group 2: Work trucks, day-cab tractors, pickup trucks*, three-axle buses 2027 2030 2033 2036 2039
Group 3: Sleeper-cab tractors and specialty vehicles 2030 2033 2036 2039 2042 Potential Consequences of Non-Compliance
Based on CARB’s ACF regulation, noncompliance with the State requirements can lead to penalties and CARB enforcement. However, the regulation does not state the monetary amount of those penalties.
The ACF Regulation does not establish a fixed fine for each instance of noncompliance. Instead, California law establishes a maximum penalty for each violation, and CARB determines the actual penalty case by case. What constitutes a violation depends on the requirement involved. For example, for failing to meet the ZEV-purchase requirement, CARB determines the number and nature of the violations. CARB then considers factors such as the seriousness and duration of the noncompliance, the number of vehicles involved, prior compliance history, avoided or delayed compliance costs, efforts made to prevent or correct the violation, cooperation with the investigation, and the financial burden of the penalty.
Typical enforcement begins when CARB identifies noncompliance through reporting, an audit, an inspection, data analysis, a complaint, or voluntary disclosure. CARB reviews the information and may issue a citation or Notice of Violation. The City would then be able to dispute CARB’s findings, correct the problem, and negotiate a resolution. Most cases are resolved through a settlement that may require the fleet to achieve compliance, follow a corrective-action or compliance plan, and pay a monetary penalty. If the parties cannot reach a settlement, CARB may pursue an administrative case or refer the matter for civil litigation and seek a court order requiring compliance.
Alternatives to Consider
The City Council may decide to proceed with all, some, or none of the proposed locations. Costs for each
AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FLEET ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING
IMPLEMENTATION
October 13, 2026
site are as broken down in the table below. If the City Council decides not to proceed with a specific site, the transition to electric vehicles will be delayed. However, current CARB mandates only apply to medium and heavy duty vehicles meaning the City Hall improvements are not required to meet current mandates.
City Hall -
Police
City Hall - NonPolice Corp Yard Total
Section Total Cost ($) Total Cost ($) Total Cost ($) Total Cost ($) Design & Permitting $66,958 $68,060 $80,928 $215,946
Hardware $267,066 $520,345 $992,107 $1,779,518
Construction $381,982 $607,247 $2,377,236 $3,366,465
Commissioning $11,825 $19,325 $29,975 $61,125
TOTAL COST $727,831 $1,214,977 $3,480,246 $5,423,054
Delaying all or portions of the fleet electrifications would affect SCE and other rebates/incentives, increase future project costs, delay vehicle procurement, and create potential regulatory compliance challenges.
Next Steps
Staff are now recommending the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager to execute contracts with PowerFlex Systems, appropriate the required funding, and execute the three CRT rebate agreements with SCE. Once approved, charger installation is expected to be completed within 18 months.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
The recommended actions require $5,423,054.68 for PowerFlex to design and install the charging infrastructure at all three locations. The SCE Charge Ready program will offset this cost by $890,155. The project design, construction, and commissioning is proposed to be funded with $4,995,500 from the Future Parking Facilities and Mobility project (Account 6183130C-81000-C2216) and $427,554.68 from the Future City Facilities Funding project (Account 6163130C-81000-C1904). The additional cost of approximately $35,000 for software support and preventative maintenance will need to be budgeted in the annual Public Works operating budget following the completion of the project.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed actions are exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301, this exemption applies to the minor alteration of existing facilities involving negligible or no expansion of previous use, 15303, this covers installation of small new equipment and utility structures in urbanized areas, 15304, this applies if the project requires minor trenching or grading to lay electrical conduit, and 15311, this covers the placement of minor structures accessory to existing facilities, such as parking lots. Alternatively, under California Government Code section 65850.7(b), cities and counties are required to approve EV charging station applications administratively through a nondiscretionary building permit. Ministerial projects are completely exempt from CEQA.
AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FLEET ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING
IMPLEMENTATION
October 13, 2026
ATTACHMENTS
1. August 4, 2026, Agenda Report (without attachments)
2. Responses to Questions From August 4, 2026
3. PowerFlex Agreement – Corporation Yard
4. PowerFlex Agreement – City Hall Fleet
5. PowerFlex Agreement – City Hall Police
6. Corporation Yard CRT Agreement
7. City Hall – General Fleet CRT Agreement
8. City Hall – Police Department CRT Agreement
9. Cost-Benefit Analysis
Submitted By: Thomas Perez Approved: .David A Kiff
Thomas Perez, Acting Director of
Public Works & Utilities
Dave Kiff, City Manager
Report Prepared By: Coordinated With:
Thomas Perez, Acting Director of Public Works
& Utilities