City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Utilities
Meeting Date: March 18, 2024
Staff Report: 2311-2223
TITLE
Approval of Amendment No. 2 of C19171513 With CLEAResult Consulting, Inc. (CLEAResult) Extending the Contract Expiration Date by Three Years From April 16, 2024 to April 15, 2027.
CEQA Status - Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Council approve and authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the attached Amendment No. 2 to extend the third-party Electric Vehicle (EV) Program Contract (C19171513) with CLEAResult by three years from April 16, 2024 to April 15, 2027 to finish EV charger installations that have been moving through the Electric Vehicle Technical Assistance Program (EVTAP). The not-to-exceed amount of $736,995 in the original contract will remain the same.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EVTAP is the key EV charger customer program developed to assist multi-family property, non- profit, school, and small and medium business customers navigate the process of designing, permitting, and installing EV chargers. CLEAResult was selected as the program administrator in April 2019 to provide technical assistance to eligible customers. However, due to the COVID pandemic and longer than anticipated project timelines, CLEAResult is unable to reach the program goal of installing 250 ports at 30 sites by the current contract end date of April 2024.
Thus far, CLEAResult has facilitated the installation of EV chargers at 4 non-profits, 1 school, and 2 multi-family customer sites (totaling 81 ports). There are another 4 projects in the process of being installed by April 2024 (estimated 94 ports). Based on additional projects in the pipeline, CPAU staff and CLEAResult are confident that with a contract extension, EVTAP could facilitate EV charger installations at 19 additional sites (estimated 250+ ports), bringing the total number of sites with completed installations to 30 by April 2027. This could be achieved within the $736,995 original contract limit approved by Council in May 2019.
BACKGROUND
Transportation currently accounts for roughly two-thirds of Palo Alto’s greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve an 80% emissions reduction from 1990s levels by 2030 (80x30 goal) and prevent catastrophic climate change, drastic changes must be made in the transportation sector along all possible avenues. This requires reductions in the number of vehicle miles traveled, particularly in single occupancy vehicles, and electrification of the remaining vehicles traveled to the greatest extent possible. The April 2021 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) impact analysis showed a pathway to achieving the 80x30 goal that involved Palo Alto reducing its vehicle emissions from 300,000 metric tons (MT) to 120,000 MT. Reaching this ambitious target will require 85% of new vehicle sales to be EVs and 44% of all vehicles to be EVs by 2030.
It is critical that the City provide programs to help transition drivers from fossil fuel vehicles. Palo Alto single-family households are embracing EVs. Based on the vehicle registration data obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”), an estimated 28.8%of Palo Alto single-family households were driving an EV in 2022. However, it has been a challenge for residents living in multi-family properties – over 40% of the City’s population – to switch to an EV due to the lack of available charging infrastructure at the majority of the over 800 multi-family (MF) properties in the City. Surveys repeatedly show that 70-80% of EV drivers charge at home, and that the number one reason MF residents do not switch to an EV is the lack of charging infrastructure at their place of residence. As of 2022, approximately 6.6% of MF households drive an EV, as shown by DMV registration data. To support adoption with this customer segment, we have set the goal to facilitate the installation of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) at 10% of the City’s 800 MF properties by 2025.
To support multi-family residents, on April 15, 2019, the City entered into a contract with CLEAResult to provide EVSE-related technical assistance to qualifying non-profit, schools, small to medium businesses and multi-family property customers. The contract was approved by Council on May 6, 20191 with an effective date of April 15, 2019. The goal of the agreement was to assist customers in successfully navigating the various stages of the EVSE installation, including site evaluation, engineering support, layout design, contractor bidding and selection process, permitting support, installation project management and the securing of rebates.
In December 2021 the contract was amended to allow an additional 2 years to meet the original 3-year program goals. While there was no change to the maximum compensation payable under the contract, the term was amended to make funds available over a 5-year period ending on April 15, 2024. However, this extension was not enough to jump-start the program due to the chilling effect that COVID had on the progress of the program. COVID impacted the entire EV industry which has taken longer to bounce back. Some of the reasons for the slower uptake include:
1 Council staff report # 10287: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/agendas-minutes- reports/reports/city-manager-reports-cmrs/year-archive/2019/final-approved-report-id-10287.pdf?t=58991.87
1. The manufacturing sector had slowed down, resulting in the ability to get EV charger equipment and transformers on a timely basis;
2.Properties were in “survival mode” during COVID focusing more on maintaining essential services rather than expanding their resources on outward facing projects; and
3.The “work from home” trend reduced commuting and led to less demand for EVs, resulting in properties feeling less pressured to install EV chargers.
While these trends have reversed post-COVID, the resurgence has not been as fast as was originally anticipated when the first amendment was passed. Therefore, staff is requesting that the CLEAResult contract be extended for an additional three years to be able to reach their original goals.
ANALYSIS
Since the inception of the contract in April 2019, CLEAResult has accomplished the following:
•Enrolled 154 sites which signed a Program Participation Agreement. •Conducted 93 Technical Site Visits by CLEAResult engineers to inventory electrical infrastructure and analyze parking layouts.
•Prepared and presented 88 Charging Evaluation Reports (“CER”) which include electrical load calculations, transformer loads, EVSE installation scenarios and pricing estimates. •Of these customers:
o7 have completed EVSE installations with CLEAResult assistance (2 MF, 4 nonprofits, and 1 school)
o4 EV charger projects are expected to be completed by April 2024 (2 MFs and 2 non-profits)
o49 customers remain active, of which an estimated 19 customer sites are expected to be able to install chargers by April 2027.
Each project takes an average of 2 years or more to complete.
Continuing to use CLEAResult’s expertise and relationships makes it more likely that the City will achieve the EVTAP program goals. They are subject matter experts in EVSE installations and have deep knowledge of every aspect of EVSE project implementation. Nurtured over many months, CLEAResult account managers have established strong working relationships with the multi- family, school and non-profit customers currently enrolled in EVTAP. They also have intimate knowledge and understanding of each property’s needs, as well as the technical and funding limitations of each site. CLEAResult is positioned to be the best possible partner to bring these projects to completion.
The goal of this extension is to ensure that 30 projects are completed by the end of the 8-year term. Of those, 11 sites are expected to be completed before the extension goes into effect.
The other 19 sites currently in the pipeline will be the focus during the 3-year extension period, with the goal for all 30 sites to have EVSEs operational by the end of the recommended contract extension period through April 2027. The extension would provide CLEAResult the necessary time to assist these customers complete installations to meet the Program goal of 30 sites.
FISCAL IMPACT
No additional funds are being sought. With this proposed contract extension, it is projected that the City will pay CLEAResult up to $299,472, which is the remaining portion of the contract. The total not-to-exceed amount of the contract will remain at $736,995.
It is anticipated that 0.5 FTE of staffing resources would continue to be required to manage the EV Charger Technical Assistance Program and this contract, as well as oversee the approval and payout of the EV charger incentives. Staffing will be from existing resources.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff provided an update to the S/CAP Working Group on October 17, 2023 on the progress of the EVTAP and EV Charging Rebate Program. Program updates are also provided regularly in the Utility Advisory Commission (UAC) Quarterly Reports.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
CLEAResult provides only technical assistance for EV charger installation projects under this contract and is not responsible for the installation of chargers; that is the responsibility of the customer and installer hired by the customer. Typically installing EV chargers at an existing customer site does not trigger California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. Providing technical assistance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it can be seen with certainty that providing technical assistance on a consulting basis will not result in any environmental impacts.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - CLEAResult Consulting, Inc. Contract Amendment No 2. C19171513 APPROVED BY:
Dean Batchelor, Director Utilities
Staff: Marina Kipnis, Sustainability Programs Administrator