City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JANUARY 23, 2024 FROM: GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 2316 – PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANT SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BLACK & VEATCH CORPORATION OF OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS, FOR ZERO-EMISSION FLEET TRANSITION PLAN SERVICES FOR A TERM THROUGH FEBRUARY 2025, FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $99,600 – SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION ISSUE:
Approve a Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Black & Veatch Corporation, of Overland Park, Kansas for zero-emission fleet transition plan services.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Approve a Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Black & Veatch Corporation, of Overland Park, Kansas for zero-emission fleet transition plan services. The term of the Agreement shall be from the date of execution through February 2025, for a total contract amount not to exceed $99,600; and By at least five affirmative votes, authorize the Chief Financial Officer or designee, to record a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $47,760 from Central Garage Fund available fund balance to the Central Garage, Professional Services expenditure account; and Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Professional Consultant Services Agreement, including making minor and non-substantive changes.
BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES RECOMMENDATION:
On January 22, 2024, the Board of Public Utilities will hear this item for consideration of Riverside Public Utilities’ proportional cost share of the agreement with Black & Veatch Corporation, totaling $31,840.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Riverside (City) is a leader in environmentally friendly fleet administration, as evidenced by being recognized as the #1 Green Fleet in North America (2022), for the City’s holistic approach to alternative fuels, purchasing policy, long-range planning and community outreach. The City has also adopted a Climate Action Plan, that includes measures to develop an electric vehicle plan and associated infrastructure, as well as the Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan, with initiatives focused on reducing pollution and decreasing the City’s overall carbon footprint by 2040.
California Advanced Clean Fleet Rule
The Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Rule was adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to transition the state’s medium and heavy-duty fleet sectors to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in support of California’s air, climate, and transportation goals. CARB unanimously adopted the ACF Rule in April 2023, following a three-year rule development process. The rule went into effect on October 1, 2023. The ACF Rule requires the phasing out of gasoline and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered medium to heavy-duty fleet vehicles, and transitioning to plug-in battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric ZEVs as follows:
Starting January 1, 2024: 50% of new medium to heavy-duty vehicles purchased by fleet operators must be ZEV.
Starting January 1, 2027: 100% of new medium to heavy-duty vehicles purchased by fleet operators must be ZEV.
Emergency vehicles are excluded from the regulation.
California Advanced Clean Cars II Rule
The Advanced Clean Cars Rule was adopted by CARB in 2022 and places requirements on new vehicles sold in California for model years 2026 through 2035. Like ACF, this rule supports California’s air (specifically ambient air quality ozone standards), climate and transportation goals. While the rule will phase in over the stated decade, by 2035 all new passenger cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles sold in California will be required to be zero emissions (plug-in electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric ZEVs).
The City’s fleet consists of approximately 1,237 highway vehicles utilizing a variety of alternative fuels, including CNG, flex fuel (E85), liquified petroleum gas, and hybrid plug-ins. These vehicles will need to be phased to zero-emission status over the next 10 to 20 years, requiring an effective transition plan and associated understanding of the charging or fueling infrastructure that will be needed.
DISCUSSION:
On September 6, 2023, the General Services Department, in conjunction with the Purchasing Division, issued Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2316 on the City’s Electronic Bidding System, PlanetBids Vendor Portal, seeking a qualified company to provide a comprehensive system-wide assessment of ZEV needs for the City and to recommend a strategy for a phased vehicle purchase and replacement process, inclusive of necessary fueling and charging infrastructure. The notification was sent to 716 City of Riverside vendors and 500 external vendors.
With a total of 31 prospective bidders, the RFP closed on October 4, 2023, with a total of 8 proposal submissions. The Purchasing Division performed a preliminary review of the proposals and determined that all eight (8) submissions received were responsive and responsible. A cross departmental team from General Services, Public Works and Riverside Public Utilities reviewed the proposals for qualifications, experience with projects of similar size and scope, professional references, approach and methodology, and Black & Veatch Corporation (Consultant) was the highest-ranking firm.
Evaluation Results
VENDOR
LOCATION
TOTAL SCORE
RANK
Black & Veatch Management Consulting, LLC
Overland Park, Ks
343.12
1 Frontier Energy, Inc.
San Ramon, Ca
337.28
2 Terra Verde Energy, LLC
San Francisco, Ca
335.92
3 Siemens Industry, Inc.
Foster City, Ca
329.28
4 Electric Power Engineers
Austin, Tx
317.92
5 Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc.
Los Angeles, Ca
313.64
6 Michael Baker International
Ontario, Ca
309.96
7 Matrix Consulting Group LTD
San Mateo, Ca
303.00
8 Scope of Services
The Consultant will review currently available and soon to be available battery and fuel cell electric vehicles available to replace the vehicle types used by the City. This task will highlight vehicle classes for which electric alternatives are available and most cost effective, as well as those for which electric alternatives are not yet available.
The review shall include:
Identification of fleet vehicles that can be transitioned to zero-emission vehicles (ZEV).
Identification of fleet vehicles that may be underutilized or oversized for current applications.
Average upfront and lifecycle vehicle cost differential among the commercially available fuel options, including kilowatt-hour cost.
Cost benefit analysis of the conversion to electric vehicles for different vehicle classes and types.
Identification of the vehicle types that are least viable for conversion to electric due to insufficient alternatives, unreliable technology, excessive cost, or other identified reasons.
Recommended compliance pathway to meet the Advanced Clean Fleet regulations based on Consultant’s review:
ZEV purchase required when replacing vehicles are adding to the fleet. 50% of vehicle purchases from 2024 – 2026 must be ZEV.
100% of vehicle purchases from 2027 and beyond must be ZEV.
ZEV Milestone Option
Until January 1, 2030, local government agency fleets may have the option to transition a percentage of their vehicles to meet expected zero-emission milestones, which gives owners the flexibility to continue operating combustion-powered vehicles as needed during the move toward cleaner technology.
Existing Conditions and Trends: Calculate each City facility’s capacity to support electrical load demand from charging operations, identify potential grid impacts, inadequate charging infrastructure/siting limitations (e.g. electric service panel and transformer upgrades, parking configurations, etc.) and note concerns about reliability and resilience in the event of a grid outage, backup generators or other energy storage methods needed for emergency response or to lighten the load from the additional impact to the electrical grid during peak system usage.
Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis: The Consultant will identify the projected number and location profile of electric vehicle charging stations needed citywide to provide charging for City of Riverside’s fleet. Identify the gap between the existing city infrastructure and forecasted future needs and estimate the costs to bridge the gap. Cost estimates shall include but are not limited to installing charging stations, mobile charging stations, installing solar panels for supporting increased electrical load and upgrading electrical capacity if needed and reviewing backup generator needs. The Consultant will also estimate the Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) emission reductions by vehicle category for the alternative fuel vehicles outlined in the Phased Master Plan.
If hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are recommended as a cost-effective alternative, the Consultant will also identify the projected number and location profile of alternative fuel storage and distribution.
Develop projected costs and identify other barriers to fleet conversion: For all light and medium duty vehicles, the Consultant will develop estimates for the projected cost of ownership for replacement with electric vehicles by 2040. Estimates must include vehicle acquisition costs, procurement lead times, charging and refueling infrastructure costs, and other associated costs. To budget the ongoing operation costs, the estimated energy usage and demand by vehicle category should be provided as well. For this task, the Consultant will also describe other barriers to transition, including but not limited to, commercial availability, procurement lead time, operational challenges, emergency response, fleet staff expertise/training, and take-home vehicle charging. Consultant shall include the yearly and total cost of ownership for the vehicle and charging infrastructure.
For vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 8,500 pounds or greater, the Consultant will develop estimates for the projected cost of conversion to battery and/or fuel cell electric vehicles by 2024 (50%) and by 2027 (100%) or in accordance with the most current Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation requirements.
Identify and analyze financing mechanisms and strategies: The Consultant will identify and analyze financing mechanisms and strategies that could accelerate the transition of publicly owned vehicles to battery and/or fuel cell electric vehicles, including but not limited to:
Energy or carbon savings performance contracting
Utility rebates
Revolving loan funds
State grant programs
State and federal incentives
Leasing
Phased Master Plan – The Consultant will develop a phasing and implementation strategy for staff review. Compile the existing conditions, needs assessment, gap analysis, cost estimates and financing strategy into a Draft Master Plan document for City staff and present final plan to City Council for final adoption, including performance benchmarks or other tracking mechanisms as appropriate.
Next Steps
It is anticipated that the study will take approximately six (6) months to complete from the date of execution of the Agreement, at which time, staff will return to City Council for a presentation on the Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan.
The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommended action complies with Purchasing Resolution No. 23914.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan supports Strategic Priority Environmental Stewardship, and Goal 4.6 to Implement the requisite measures to achieve citywide carbon neutrality no later than 2040.
This item aligns with EACH of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Black & Veatch Corporation for Zero Emission Fleet Transition Plan services is agendized for the Board of Public Utilities and City Council consideration, ensuring public transparency.
Equity – The Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan will benefit the entire Riverside community by providing a road map for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.
Fiscal Responsibility – RFP No. 2316 for Zero Emission Fleet Transition Plan services was competitively bid in compliance with City Purchasing Resolution No. 23914, ensuring the best value for these services will be achieved.
Innovation – The Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan will ensure that the City of Riverside remains a leader in the areas of Green Fleet and environmental stewardship.
Sustainability & Resiliency – The Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan will address concerns about reliability and resilience in the event of a grid outage, backup generators or other energy storage methods to ensure the City’s fleet remains operational.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of the action is $99,600, which will be funded in part by the Office of Sustainability, Central Garage, and Riverside Public Utilities based on proportional share of their respective fleets, as indicated in the table below. Upon Council approval, a supplemental appropriation will be recorded in the Central Garage Fund, Professional Services account number 2215000-421000.
Fund
Program
Account
Amount
Measure Z
Office of Sustainability
8005101-421000
$20,000
Central Garage
GS-Central Garage/Professional Svcs.
2215000-421000
$47,760
RPU - Electric
Electric Production/Professional Svcs.
6100000-421000
$15,920
RPU - Water
Water Production/Professional Svcs.
6200000-421000
$15,920
Total
$99,600
Prepared by: Shari Call, Deputy General Services Director Approved by: Carl Carey, General Services Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney Attachments:
Bid Award
Agreement
RFP 2316 – ZEV Transition Plan ● Page 2