ConsiderationsforPlanningPublicFleetEVCharging

Because use cases and locations of EVs are diverse for the City of Columbus, it was important to engage multiple stakeholders to make installation as smooth as possible. Fleet EV charging projects involve many stakeholders and additional consideration has to be given to coordination beyond a typical project setup. The City of Columbus fleet charging projects often included input from:

• site hosts, who manage and often work out of the building adjacent to a fleet charging installation
• City departments and divisions including fleet, facilities, public service, building and zoning, and fire
• Electric utility companies involved, and other underground utilities in the project footprint
• electrical and site engineers
• EV charging vendors and electrical contractors
• Project Managers

As part of the design process, additional outreach included sending the plans to the site hosts, facilities managers and the fire department for plan approval outside of the formal review process through the city’s building and zoning services.

Below are some critical steps that the City of Columbus identified through the planning and installation of multiple charging points in multiple locations to support the rapid increase in fleet EVs:

Aligning Charging Installation with EV Delivery

The most important consideration for scheduling fleet charging installation is to make sure it’s aligned with fleet vehicle procurement planning. Engineers need to know the site location of EVs being procured and the location and number of planned EV parking spaces to begin plan development.

For the City of Columbus fleet EV procurements, vehicles would be delivered within three months after being ordered. Therefore, charger installation lagged vehicle procurement as the electrical engineers wouldn’t have site location and charging need details until the EVs were ordered. Additionally, federal grants were used to fund the initial project phase, so additional time was needed to follow due process. Additional concerns were encountered during construction due to retrofit work taking place in a newly constructed garage. Additional consideration for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) allowed for some charging installation schedule flexibility and vehicle model options.

After completion of the Phase 1 projects, Smart Columbus worked to streamline the design and legislative processes to provide a viable schedule for future charging station installation projects.

For fleets planning out EV procurement, it is important to develop a project schedule showing charging station installation to be completed 15 to 30 calendar days prior to vehicle delivery to allow for charger testing and as needed, equipment replacement from the testing results.

Determining Budget & Funding

The fleet procurement strategy determines the scope and budget of the charging projects. If considering outside funding sources such as those offered through utility programs, the U.S. Department of Energy or a metropolitan planning organization, review the benefits and limitations of the requirements. Often there is additional administrative work tied to accepting grant funding including, but not limited to, handling applications, managing a more complex project schedule and navigating hardware restrictions and data requirements. The limitations may provide a good framework for a pilot project or may handicap the process by creating additional work that wasn’t originally scoped for the project.

For Phases 1 and 2 of the City of Columbus charging installation projects, construction cost totaled $493,765.80 for 94 ChargePoint CPF 50 Level 2 chargers at six locations. Installation at sites ranged from two to 50 ports. Other phases are still underway, so final costs are yet to be finalized.

Budget considerations include, but are not limited to:

• the ratio of EVs to chargers needed
• the ratio of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to PHEVs
• EV readiness design at sites to prepare for future procurements
• charging hardware and software needs including screens, payment, cord length, cord management, power management, connectivity (Wi-Fi and/or cellular), charging data access and management
• the energy level of charging needed, and other specification upgrades such as card readers if a payment option is desired
• power demand management firmware that may be necessary
• additional fees or items required by local building codes
• contingencies for items encountered during construction

Reviewing & Updating Local Policies

For the City of Columbus’ fleet EV projects, local policies had to be reviewed to better understand how the charging projects could be impacted. Stakeholders, including Smart Columbus and City of Columbus building and zoning officials reviewed City permitting policy and suggested that the process could be streamlined to reduce disincentives for installing charging. Due to this recommendation, the building and zoning department reduced its plan review process from 20 days to 10 days.

To make it easier for designers and contractors to figure out their permitting needs and costs, the Smart Columbus team created a graphic flow chart to show the permitting steps based on project need.

The fire department added draft language to the city fire code to define safety standards for EV charging projects. The code includes requirements for a minimum installation distance requirement from fire hydrants, vehicle impact protection for the chargers and installation of an emergency power disconnect.

The City of Columbus is also reviewing a policy to allow city employees to charge at fleet chargers during the day while the city fleet vehicles are in the field. Considerations include specific site viability, how employees will pay for power (currently considering a flat monthly fee), how coordination will occur between city fleet vehicle users and city employees parking personal vehicles and who will manage any parking and charging disputes.