City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: November 28, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.F
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Office of Sustainability & the Environment
Subject: Award Contract to GreenWealth for the Installation, Operation, and Maintenance of Designated Public Electric Vehicle Chargers Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities), Section 15302 (Replacement/Reconstruction), and Section 15303 (New Construction of Small Structures) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Award RFP #372 to GreenWealth Energy Solutions, Inc. for the installation, operation, and maintenance of designated public Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers for the Public Works Department.
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with GreenWealth Energy Solutions, Inc. for five years with three two-year renewal options at no cost to the City.
Summary
Supporting the shift to transportation electrification is a critical component of the City of Santa Monica’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan and EV Action Plan. The City has been a leader in installing public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations since the 1990s.
As EV adoption increased, so has the demand for EV charging options and reliable infrastructure. The City has historically owned and operated its own EV chargers, but a shifting market and increase in EV charging service providers now allows the City to outsource the installation, operations, and maintenance of public chargers to a thirdparty at no cost to the City. This option saves staff time and money and improves the public charging experience for EV drivers. This staff report proposes contracting with a 2 of 7
new vendor, GreenWealth Energy Solutions, to replace old chargers at three priority parking facilities and install and operate new chargers, as requested by the City.
Discussion
The State of California has a goal of reaching 5 million zero emission vehicles on the road by 2030. By 2035, 100% of new cars and light trucks sold in the state are required to be zero-emissions vehicles. Expanding public EV charging options is critical to supporting the rapidly growing EV adoption rates.
City Council adopted the EV Action Plan in 2017 to support EV adoption through policies, programs, and infrastructure projects that expand EV charging access. Santa Monica currently has 178 standard level 2 chargers that are owned and operated by the City, and 28 DC fast chargers that are owned and operated by EVgo. • Level 2 chargers are the standard chargers found at most retail, workplace, and residential properties. They use a 240-volt outlet and typically provide about 14- 35 miles of range per hour of charging time depending on the charger configuration and the EV’s capacity to accept the charge. • DC fast chargers use a 480-volt outlet and charge at much faster rates, typically between 180-240 miles of range per hour depending on the charger configuration and vehicle capacity.
The City entered into a contract with ChargePoint Inc. to purchase EV charging equipment in 2018. The City coordinates the installation, operations, and maintenance of these chargers and retains revenues earned at these stations. As the number of chargers and utilization rates have increased, so have maintenance costs and time to repair broken stations. Bringing on a third-party to manage and operate new stations would benefit both the City and EV drivers that count on EV chargers to be working. The City would save money on the capital costs of installing the equipment and would no longer have to pay for operating costs under the new model. GreenWealth would provide level 2 ChargePoint EV chargers, similar to the existing chargers found at other City parking facilities.
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GreenWealth would be responsible for replacing a minimum of 49 old charge ports at three parking structures (Structure 6, 9, and the Civic Structure), replacing or repairing additional chargers that break in the future at various City locations and installing chargers at new sites identified by the City in collaboration with the vendor, including three parking lots at the Santa Monica Airport. They would install chargers at mutually agreed upon City locations at no cost to the City, cover electricity costs, and retain the majority of charging revenue. GreenWealth would remit 20% of charging profits to the City after operational costs are met. The City may also elect to transfer ownership and operations of existing City-owned chargers for GreenWealth to maintain.
GreenWealth would prioritize the replacement of existing chargers, many of which are broken, at the three sites listed below in Table 1. The stations at these locations are old, non-networked chargers (not ChargePoint stations) that are unable to collect revenue or provide usage data to monitor station status.
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Table 1 – Priority Sites – EV Charger Replacements
Site Address
Existing
Chargers
(ports)
Future Chargers
Parking Structure 6 1431 2nd St. 30 50-60 (Level 2)
Parking Structure 9 1136 4th St. 4 4-10 (Level 2)
Civic Center Parking
Structure (first floor) 330 Olympic Dr. 15
14+ Level 2, 1 highpowered L2
Total 49
Parking Structure 6 was built with extra conduit to support future EV charging.
GreenWealth would add up to 30 additional chargers at this location by using existing conduit and electrical capacity via load management. This would significantly increase charging options for the many local employees, residents, and visitors that utilize this structure. The vendor would replace other chargers as they break and add new stations at future EV charging sites, including a total of 24 new chargers at three Santa Monica Airport parking lots (2828 Donald Douglas Loop North, 3233 Donald Douglas Loop South, and 3200 Airport Ave). Drivers would be notified of pending construction at the parking structures in advance.
EV charging user fees at GreenWealth-operated chargers would be based on regional user fees and electricity rates; proposed fees are around $0.35/kWh-$0.49/kWh on a time-of-use rate structure and are subject to change based on electricity rates set by the Clean Power Alliance and Southern California Edison. User fees are currently $0.30/kWh-$0.35/kWh at City-owned chargers. GreenWealth would review proposed fee structures with the City annually to ensure pricing is reasonable and calibrated to current market conditions and electricity rates. Electricity costs are anticipated to increase by approximately $16,000 per year at Parking Structure 6 and approximately $17,000 per year at Parking Structure 9 due to the planned additional EV chargers.
Estimated annual costs for the three new Airport sites is $54,000. GreenWealth would reimburse the City for electricity costs incurred by their EV chargers at all locations. 5 of 7
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified
Person/Firm
GreenWealth Energy Solutions, LLC
Evaluation
Criteria
Work plans, experience, capacity/ability to perform services promptly, technical capabilities, financial/other resources, character/reputation, ability to provide future services as needed and price.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFP Data
Posted On Posted On
Advertise In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
8/16/2023 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily
Press
63 9/26/2023
Justification to Award
An evaluation committee comprised of members of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment and Architectural Services within the Public Works Department and the EV Subcommittee, a subcommittee of the Commission on Sustainability, evaluated the proposals. Based on their experience with similar projects, thorough project plan, profitsharing proposal, and commitment to high-quality customer service, staff recommends GreenWealth Energy Solutions, Inc. as the best qualified firm to provide EV charging installation, operations, and maintenance services at select City sites.
Environmental Review
The contract is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Sections 15301, Section 15302, and Section 15303 of the CEQA Guidelines. Section 15301 exempts Class 1 (Existing Facilities) projects from CEQA, which include the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Section 15302 exempts Class 2 RFPs Received
Blink Network, LLC Green Water and
Power
EV Tech Inc. True Upside
Casco Contractors GreenWealth Energy
Solutions, Inc.
PowerFlex Systems,
LLC
EV Gateway OBE Networks 1, LLC Smart eMobility
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projects (Replacement/Reconstruction) which “consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced”. The contract will allow for the replacement and maintenance of existing EV chargers. In addition, the installation of new EV chargers is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15303 (New Construction of Small Structures), which exempts construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures including utility extensions and accessory structures/facilities such as EV chargers.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
07/25/17 (Attachment A) Original bid and award of agreement with ChargePoint, Inc. for EV charger procurement
11/14/17 (Attachment B) Council adopted EV Action Plan
03/06/18 (Attachment C) Modification to agreement with ChargePoint to expand procurement and services from fleet-only to public
chargers
09/10/19 (Attachment D) Original bid and award of agreement with EVgo Services LLC for DC fast charging installation and services
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to enter into an agreement with Greenwealth Energy Solutions LLC to provide EV charging installation, operations, and maintenance at select City sites. The recommended action in this report is expected to have a positive impact to the General Fund and eventually the Airport Fund since the electricity costs will be reimbursed by GreenWealth. The reimbursement and profit-sharing revenues for the General Fund will be deposited in accounts 01500002.416300 and 01500002.416301, and for the Airport Fund in 57500001.416302 and 57500001.416303, respectively.
The timing and amount of the revenues to be received and the electricity expenses to be incurred are indeterminate at this time. The department will track and monitor both the revenues and the expenditures closely. Any budget adjustments would be 7 of 7
incorporated in the FY 2023-24 Year-End Budget and FY 2024-25 Exception-Based Budget, as needed.
Prepared By: Ariana Vito, Sustainability Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Staff Report: Original ChargePoint Agreement (Web Link) B. EV Action Plan (Web Link)
C. Staff Report: ChargePoint Agreement Modification (Web Link) D. Staff Report: EVgo Agreement (Web Link)
E. Oaks Initiative Form - GreenWealth