Data Visualization Sample

Fleet Electrification Assessment Sample

Fleet electrification offers local governments economic benefits that include lower lifecycle costs and reduced risk of fuel price volatility when compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Deployment of electric vehicles (EV) in municipal fleets also benefits the local population through the use of clean electricity as fuel, which helps reduce criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The City of Electricity (City) commissioned a team to evaluate the short- and long-term cost savings associated with the transition to EVs, determine impacts and benefits to the City, and outline steps to efficiently and cost-effectively integrate EVs and charging infrastructure at municipal facilities.

The purpose of this assessment was to evaluate the current municipal fleet composition and make recommendations for transitioning from ICE vehicles to EVs by 2033 to the extent feasible. Commitment to fleet electrification will help move the city closer to achieving its climate mitigation goals while leading by example in the community. Click here for more information on EV technology and currently available models.

This assessment was created using data provided by city staff as well as from information gathered during subsequent meetings and interviews. Our EV deployment recommendations are in alignment with the City’s Climate Action Plan objectives as described in the Communitywide Sustainability Action Plan (Measure T-8.1). Our recommendations address 2024-2026 procurement cycles in detail and 2027-2033 procurement cycles more generally to ensure fiscally responsible procurement and deployment of EVs as well as proposed charging infrastructure.

Frontier analyzed the impacts of electrifying the City’s fleet of 665 fleet vehicles and three transition scenarios:

• Baseline: The capital expense (CapEx) and operating expense (OpEx) of a fleet that is all conventional vehicles.

• Dedicated Transition: A transition to all EVs by 2035 and each EV has a dedicated Level 2 charging port and shared DC fast chargers

• Shared Transition: A transition to all EVs by 2035 and most Level 2 charging ports will be shared by up to four EVs, plus shared DC fast chargers.

The summary below shows the estimated costs of the three scenarios. The following pages provide more insight.

Our analysis shows that transition of the City’s municipal fleet to electric vehicles would cost the city an additional $10M – $13.7M and reduce operating expenses by approximately $22M when compared to the Baseline scenario over a 12-year period. This transition should also reduce GHG emissions by 31,891 MTCO2e over the 12-year period. The cost reductions in the transition scenarios are driven by vehicle incentives, Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits, fuel cost savings and lower maintenance costs.

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Charging Infrastructure

In the Dedicated Transition scenario, the City would install 13 dual-port 150 kW DCFC, 12 dual-port 60 kW DCFC,  266 dual-port L2s and 100 DC (slow) chargers. This will provide 674 slots for charging vehicles parked overnight. Nine of the 13 DCFC are dedicated to an EV, and four DCFC are for shared supplemental charging. 

In the Shared Transition scenario, the City would install 13 dual-port 150 kW DCFC, 17 dual-port 60 kW DCFC, 77 dual-port L2s and 98 DC (slow) chargers. This will provide 144 dedicated and 154 shared slots for charging vehicles parked overnight. Six of the DCFC are specifically for charging police vehicles, and seven DCFC are for shared supplemental charging of the entire fleet. 

Two vehicles may be charged simultaneously at the DCFCs.  We are assuming “take home” vehicles would be charged at home or at an available charger during operating hours.

We expect new EV models will have reduced charging times in the near future. Charging an EV is already comparable to fueling a gasoline vehicle in some cases, so there should be no need for dedicated fleet personnel to charge and reposition EVs.

The Transition to EVs will cost the City an additional $10M – $13.7M which will provide about 95% more charging capacity than is needed to power the EV fleet. The EVSE Utilization rate is estimated by dividing the total daily kWh demand of the fleet by the total time available for charging at the peak charging rate. EVSE will only charge at peak rates when the vehicle’s onboard charger will allow it and when the battery is fully discharged, so this metric should be viewed as a rough estimate of unused charging capacity. The visualization below shows the proposed EVSE installations along with their associated capital and operating costs.

Assumptions

FLEET CHARGING

To estimate the number and types of chargers needed, the duty cycles and dwell (idle) times of each vehicle were used to determine the total energy demand at each facility. For the medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, city staff provided detailed duty cycle descriptions for each vehicle. For the light duty fleet, standard duty cycle assumptions were used based upon average daily miles driven. For certain specialty vehicles, such as vacuum trucks and rodders, both miles driven and hours of operation were used to estimate the daily energy demand. 

The charging capacity of the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) recommendations amount to about 3% – 5% of the total fleet energy demand. This excess capacity helps to prevent long lines at DC Fast Chargers (DCFC) and will allow most if not all EVs to have their own dedicated charging plug which prevents operational issues such as EVs becoming accidentally discharged from lack of use.

The City has four fleet vehicle domicile locations (City Hall, Wastewater Treatment Plant, Civic Center; Corporation Yard) that require chargers.  

The estimated planning level project (capital) costs for EVSE at the City’s fleet facilities include many items in addition to the EVSE themselves that represent a relatively small fraction of the total project costs for most charger installation projects. The full project costs include hard costs such as the purchase and installation of EVSE, associated materials, and ancillary equipment along with site restoration as well as soft costs such as project design and permitting, utility fees and contingencies.   

Two charging scenarios were evaluated: The Dedicated Transition scenario consists of dedicated L2 or DC chargers for each EV with supplemental DCFC. The Shared Transition scenario consists of chargers shared between fleet EVs with supplemental DCFC.  Cost summary tables for both scenarios are presented for comparison and reference below.  

RECOMMENDATIONS BY FACILITY 

Fleet vehicle assignments, existing and proposed EV chargers, and information on electrical service are summarized below for each location. All L2 and DCFCs are dual-port unless otherwise specified. Low output L2 chargers are rated at 7.6 kW; medium output Level 2 chargers are rated at 11 kW; single-port low output DC chargers are rated at 11.5 kW; medium output DC Fast chargers are rated at 60 kW, and high output DC Fast chargers are rated at 150kW.

City Hall: The one vehicle domiciled at this site could be charged by one low output L2. Since there is only one vehicle and one required charger, there is no difference in cost between the Dedicated and Shared scenarios. A dual port charger is recommended as a low-cost way to future-proof the facility for additional EVs. No electrical upgrades are required at this site as existing electrical capacity should be sufficient to accommodate this additional load based on discussion with the city staff. The L2 would be connected to an existing electrical panel in the electrical room near the northwest corner of the building. As-built drawings show that panels LPA1, LPA2, LPA3, and HLA1 should all have spare capacity. Surface mounted conduit would need to be installed from the electrical room to the parking lot to the west of the building (based on field observation of where fleet vehicles were parked). Conduit will then need to be trenched in pavement to the pedestal-mounted L2 installed in the landscaped area adjacent to the parking lot.  

Wastewater Treatment Plant: Two fleet domicile locations share 1800 Elm Rd, with a total of 7 vehicles parked overnight at this address. The Dedicated scenario would require four low-output L2s, while the Shared scenario would need only two low-output L2s to meet the daily energy requirements of fleet EVs assigned to this address. Based on as-built drawings of a proposed new shop building on-site, no electrical upgrades are anticipated for this site. As-built drawings show space in existing panels 4M and 2A for the EVSE, with spare additional breakers available in the Main Distribution Panel (MDP) if a new sub-panel is preferred. 

Civic Center: Two fleet domicile locations share 1800 Elm Rd, with a total of 7 vehicles parked overnight at this address. The Dedicated scenario would require four low-output L2s, while the Shared scenario would need only two low-output L2s to meet the daily energy requirements of fleet EVs assigned to this address. Based on as-built drawings of a proposed new shop building on-site, no electrical upgrades are anticipated for this site. As-built drawings show space in existing panels 4M and 2A for the EVSE, with spare additional breakers available in the Main Distribution Panel (MDP) if a new sub-panel is preferred.

Corporation Yard: Two fleet domicile locations share 1800 Elm Rd, with a total of 7 vehicles parked overnight at this address. The Dedicated scenario would require four low-output L2s, while the Shared scenario would need only two low-output L2s to meet the daily energy requirements of fleet EVs assigned to this address. Based on as-built drawings of a proposed new shop building on-site, no electrical upgrades are anticipated for this site. As-built drawings show space in existing panels 4M and 2A for the EVSE, with spare additional breakers available in the Main Distribution Panel (MDP) if a new sub-panel is preferred.

Dedicated Transition Scenario

HARD COSTS:

 1. EV Chargers This includes: 

• Level 1 EV chargers (120V receptacles) 
• Level 2 EV chargers (ChargePoint CT4000 or equivalent)  
• Power cords and cable management for Level 1 or 2 chargers 
• DC Fast Chargers (150 kW Blink/BTC/ABB or equivalent) 
• Gateway Module/ Load Management Devices 

Note: this excludes costs for warranties because the standard warranty that vendor offers is part of the cost estimate tool. 

2. Materials/Equipment This includes costs of purchasing and installing materials typically required for fleet EV charging projects (other than the EV chargers themselves) including the following items: 

• Wiring (Note 50 feet of conduit, wiring assumed per Level 1 and 100 feet per Level 2 and DC Fast charger) 
• Conduit Systems (underground and/or surface-mounted) 
• Trenching and/or directional drilling 
• Pull Boxes (installed in the ground and/or surface mounted) 
• Aerial wire spans 
• Footings for installation of EV charger pedestals and electrical service panels 
• Bollards 
• Wheel stops 
• Step Down transformers 
• Electrical service panels including sub panels 
• Circuit breakers 
• Signage 
• Striping for parking stalls 

3. Site restoration Site restoration covers the costs to install Civil/Landscaping improvements to restore the site following excavation and other construction activities including: 

• Minor restoration for civil infrastructure such as roadway and/or sidewalk repaving  
• Minor curb and gutter restoration 
• Minor surface water (drainage infrastructure) restoration  
• Minor landscaping restoration such as replanting  

SOFT COSTS: 4. Contracting/Design An estimated 20% mark-up has been applied to the total project costs to include: 

• Engineering design fees 
• Contractor profits 

 5. Permitting  Each local authority with jurisdiction mandates electrical permits for installation of EV chargers: 

• Electrical permit fees charged by local jurisdictions, typically $5k per site plus $1k for labor and contingency. 

 6. Utility fees This consists of fees charged by PG&E to bring additional power for the EV chargers, including: 

• Electrical upgrade design 
• Transformer replacement 

 7. Contingencies A 20% mark-up has been applied to the project costs for each cost category (categories #1, #2, #3, #5, and #6 including contracting/design) consistent with public agency capital project budgeting.     

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Electric Vehicle Transition Planner

Recognizing that there are many ways to achieve full fleet electrification, a Transition Planner (see visualization below) will allow the City to consider many different approaches to achieving this goal. For example, the City may prioritize the replacement of the oldest vehicles first, or it may decide to replace vehicles by facility, based on availability of EVSE. Use the Transition Planner visualization below to explore ways to adjust costs and timelines to fit anticipated budgets.  The average replacement year can be used to track the average time vehicles remain in service beyond their planned useful life.

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Electric Vehicle Procurements

Many light-duty EVs in the market today could meet the City’s needs and are reasonably priced. However, it might take five or more years for Class 3 – 8 EVs to reach sticker price and range parity with their conventionally-fueled equivalents.

The City might also consider replacing some of its medium duty vehicles with light-duty vehicles (e.g., Ford F-250 replaced with a Ford F-150) where increased towing and hauling capacity is not needed. The Ford F-150 Lightning loses around 50% of its range when towing equipment, but this might still be acceptable performance for some of the City’s duty cycles.

For medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that haul or tow short distances, there are a number of EV options available now. Some vehicle types are better suited to electrification than others. For example, bucket trucks, yard tractors, buses and panel vans typically have duty cycles where an EV alternative is suitable.  Other vehicle types are much more difficult to electrify, such as dump trucks, vacuum trucks and rodders, which require significant amounts of energy to operate. Battery electric refuse trucks and sweepers are available now, though their range and performance is still rather limited.

Ancillary lighting and cabin air conditioning/heating do not require much energy, particularly if high efficiency heat pumps are used. However, cabin heating using resistance heating does draw significant amounts of power. One advantage of EVs is that they can provide power to equipment, lifts and lights without needing an engine to be idling.

Electric vehicles typically recharge where they park. For light-duty EVs, L2 charging adds 10-20 miles of range per hour and can recharge a battery in 6-12 hours. Larger vehicles have bigger batteries and need either more time to charge (8-to-12 hours) or to be charged at a DCFC.

No EV replacements have been included in the 10-year analysis period. Frontier expects the City will instead prioritize replacement of ICE vehicles before replacing EVs in order to more effectively meet it’s climate action and sustainability goals. No vehicle battery replacements are anticipated, since any loss in a vehicle’s battery capacity is not likely to affect its usability given the relatively short distances most vehicles travel each day.

To estimate future prices of ICE vehicles, the most recently reported vehicle price from the manufacturer was used for the first year, and then escalated 3.7% (2023 annual inflation rate as of September 2023) each subsequent year. The city sales tax of 7.75% was added to the purchase price. 

To estimate future prices of EV vehicles, the most recently reported MSRP was used for the first year, and then decreased in even amounts each subsequent year until 2028 when we assume most EVs will have reached MSRP price parity with its ICE equivalent. Supporting this assumption are forecasts from CARB, BNEF, RMI, and NREL. Depreciation and residual values were not considered in this analysis.  

The visualization below provides more details on the electric vehicle capital costs considered in this assessment. Adjust the slider lever to show the marginal increase in cost each year for EV acquisitions for either Transition scenario, as compared to the Baseline scenario. The timeframe scale can be adjusted to view a single year or up to the full 12 years covered in this analysis. The net increase in cost for the timeframe being considered is shown in the box labeled “Transition minus Baseline.”

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ACF Compliance Tool

The Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) Compliance tool can be used to help plan medium- and heavy-duty vehicle purchases to ensure compliance with the ACF CARB rule and to ensure enough chargers are installed and operational before the delivery of EVs. The Pass/Fail table automatically updates to indicate whether or not the replacement vehicles above comply with either the Procurement Pathway or the Milestone Pathway. 

How to use this tool:

1. Click on the green or red bars to select a replacement vehicle from the dropdown list.
2. Move the green or red bars left or right to line up with the desired replacement year.
3. To add/remove a vehicle from the table calculations, check/uncheck the box on the far left.
4. To expand/contract the existing vehicle table, click on the |-> symbol at the top.
5. To filter the dropdown list by vehicle class, select the toggle at the top “Filter by Class”.
6. To search on any field, use the search bar at the top next to the 🔍 icon.
7. To open the tool in a new tab, click on the new tab icon in the upper right corner.
8. To save a configuration, click on the 🇽 icon in the upper right to “Export Current Configuration”. This action will download an excel spreadsheet to your computer. Send this file to tpaddon@frontierenergy.com so it can be uploaded into this webpage. Once this is completed, your new configuration will be saved as the new starting state (but not until then).

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Inflation Reduction Act – Clean Vehicle Credits

Credits may be available under Section 30D of the Internal Revenue Code for light-, medium- and heavy duty vehicles leased by the City from an eligible entity. The credit is limited to $7,500 for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and $40,000 for all other vehicles.