Form revised: July 12, 2011
FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS
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Department: |
Contact Person/Phone: |
CBO Analyst/Phone: |
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Office of Sustainability and Environment |
Sandra Pinto de Bader – 4-3194 |
Joe Regis – 5-0087 |
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Legislation Title: AN ORDINANCE relating to the charging of electric vehicles; authorizing the Director of Finance and Administrative Services, the Director of the Seattle Center Department, the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, and the Seattle City Librarian to set per-session fees for public use of electric vehicle charging stations in parking facilities owned or controlled by each of their respective departments; making it an infraction and imposing a monetary penalty for an unauthorized vehicle to park in a space reserved for electric vehicle parking while charging; amending Sections 3.39.020, 11.31.121, 17.04.030, and 18.28.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code; adding new Section 11.72.125 to the Seattle Municipal Code; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts. |
Summary of the Legislation:
This Ordinance gives authority to the directors of the departments of Finance and Administrative Services, Seattle Center, Parks and Recreation, and Library to set per-session fees for public use of electric vehicle charging stations in parking facilities owned or controlled by their Departments.
This Ordinance also makes it an infraction and imposes a monetary penalty for unauthorized vehicle parking in a space reserved for electric vehicle parking only while charging.
Background:
(Include a brief description of the purpose and context of legislation and include record of previous legislation and funding history, if applicable.)
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars and trucks are Seattle’s largest source of climate pollution, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the city’s carbon footprint. To shrink our transportation footprint, the City of Seattle is pursuing a two-part strategy. The first part focuses on increasing investment in transportation choices so that residents and businesses can walk, bike, or take transit. The second part focuses on improving vehicle efficiency so that cars and trucks have a smaller greenhouse gas impact. Plug-in electric vehicles (EV) represent a big step forward in efficiency.
The City has been working on electric vehicle readiness for several years. During the 2009 budget process, City Council issued a Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI) directing Seattle City Light (SCL) to explore policies and procedures that would encourage and accommodate the use of plug-in electric vehicles in Seattle. The response to the SLI was prepared jointly by Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) and SCL.
The Plug-in Ready Interdepartmental Team, coordinated by OSE, has done work to streamline the permitting process and provide consumer information for installing charging stations in single and multi-family buildings; to develop building and land use code changes, where necessary, to encourage installation of charging stations; to identify potential charging station locations on City property; to explore electricity load and distribution constraints and opportunities; to coordinate with surrounding cities and King County to develop a regional EV infrastructure strategy; to explore market demand for EVs and the infrastructure needs for EV purchasers; and to provide education on the benefits of EVs.
As electric vehicles continue arriving to Seattle’s streets, it’s important to build a robust EV charging infrastructure network. To that effect, Seattle has been the beneficiary of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds through the EV Project, working on private property, and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. In October 2009, City Council issued Council Bill 116993 to accept grant funds to purchase and install electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Those funds are being used to install EV charging stations for our fleet’s use and to install a number of publicly available EV charging stations in City parking facilities such as the Seattle Center’s Fifth Avenue garage, the Central Library, the SeaPark building, and the Pacific Place garage. The Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) is currently in the process of installing those charging stations.
Approximately 20 publicly available charging stations will be located in City owned or managed parking facilities. ARRA funds cover equipment purchase and installation, not ongoing maintenance, operational, or electricity costs. Establishing a per-session fee for public use of City EV charging stations, within the minimum ($1.50) and maximum ($7.50) levels established by Council, and giving City departments authority to set fees the City will be able to recover operational, maintenance, and electricity costs with a revenue neutral approach.
The proposed fee range is based on maintenance costs, vendor costs, and electricity. The model looks at scenarios that assume $0.08 per kilowatt hour; monthly charges and transaction fees by vendors; three routine maintenance levels ($150, $200, and $500/year); and daily usage of charging stations ranging from ‘zero charges per day’ to ‘three charges per day’. Damages due to vandalism are not considered in the routine maintenance assumption, and because charging stations were purchased with ARRA grant funds, replacement value recovery is not included in the cost model (See Attachment A).
Please check one of the following:
____ This legislation does not have any financial implications.
(Please skip to “Other Implications” section at the end of the document and answer questions a-h. Earlier sections that are left blank should be deleted. Please delete the instructions provided in parentheses at the end of each question.)
__X_ This legislation has financial implications.
(If the legislation has direct fiscal impacts (e.g., appropriations, revenue, positions), fill out the relevant sections below. If the financial implications are indirect or longer-term, describe them in narrative in the “Other Implications” Section. Please delete the instructions provided in parentheses at the end of each title and question.)
Appropriations: N/A
(This table should reflect appropriations that are a direct result of this legislation. In the event that the project/programs associated with this ordinance had, or will have, appropriations in other legislation please provide details in the Appropriation Notes section below. If the appropriation is not supported by revenue/reimbursements, please confirm that there is available fund balance to cover this appropriation in the note section.)
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Fund Name and Number |
Department |
Budget Control Level* |
2011 Appropriation |
2012 Anticipated Appropriation |
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TOTAL |
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*See budget book to obtain the appropriate Budget Control Level for your department.
Appropriations Notes: N/A
Anticipated Revenue/Reimbursement Resulting from this Legislation:
(This table should reflect revenues/reimbursements that are a direct result of this legislation. In the event that the issues/projects associated with this ordinance/resolution have revenues or reimbursements that were, or will be, received because of previous or future legislation or budget actions, please provide details in the Notes section below the table.)
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Fund Name and Number |
Department |
Revenue Source |
2011 Revenue |
2012 Revenue |
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Library General Fund |
Library |
Per-session fee for public use of City electric vehicle charging stations |
$950 |
$1,950 |
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Seattle Center General Fund |
Seattle Center |
Per-session fee for public use of City electric vehicle charging stations |
$950 |
$1,950 |
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FAS General Fund |
FAS |
Per-session fee for public use of City electric vehicle charging stations |
$4,500 |
$9,000 |
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TOTAL |
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$6,400 |
$12,900 |
Revenue/Reimbursement Notes:
The proposed per-session fee range of $1.50 (minimum) and $7.50 (maximum) is based on maintenance costs, vendor costs, and electricity. The model considers scenarios that assume:
- $0.08 per kilowatt hour ($1.92 for a full charge on a 24 kilowatt hour battery pack)
- Monthly charges and transaction fees by vendors ($336/year)
- Three routine maintenance levels ($150, $200, and $500/year), and
- Four scenarios for daily usage of charging stations ranging from ‘zero charges per day’ to ‘three charges per day’
- 2011 revenue reflects only six months of operations
The cost spread resulting from this model yielded a lower-end per-session cost of $2.36 and on the higher-end $4.21. All scenarios considered vehicles would be charging a fully depleted battery, thus maximizing electricity use of $1.92. In reality vehicles will be using charging stations to charge their cars at different levels based on load left in their battery pack. Not all vehicles will be charging a completely depleted battery pack.
The per-session minimum fee proposed ($1.50) would give flexibility to departments to set the fee low enough to recover electricity while incentivizing use of the charging stations, especially at the beginning stages. The maximum ($7.50) is set high enough to allow departments to adjust fees based on experience and potentially recover cost of damages due to vandalism or, if in the future, the City decided to invest in additional EV charging infrastructure, it would allow for replacement value recovery.
The following assumptions were made in calculating revenue (see Attachment B):
- $3.50 per-session fee
- Three charging stations installed in the Seattle Center Fifth Avenue garage
- Three charging stations installed in the Central Library garage
- 14 charging stations installed in various parking facilities managed by FAS
- 50% of charging stations in use an average of once per day
Total Regular Positions Created, Modified, or Abrogated through this Legislation, Including FTE Impact: N/A
(This table should only reflect the actual number of positions affected by this legislation. In the event that positions have been, or will be, created as a result of other legislation, please provide details in the Notes section below the table.)
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Position Title and Department |
Position # for Existing Positions |
Fund Name & # |
PT/FT |
2011 Positions |
2011 FTE |
2012 Positions* |
2012 FTE* |
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TOTAL |
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* 2012 positions and FTE are total 2012 position changes resulting from this legislation, not incremental changes. Therefore, under 2012, please be sure to include any continuing positions from 2011.
Position Notes: N/A
Do positions sunset in the future? N/A
(If yes, identify sunset date)
Spending/Cash Flow:
(This table should be completed only in those cases where part or all of the funds authorized by this legislation will be spent in a different year than when they were appropriated (e.g., as in the case of certain grants and capital projects). Details surrounding spending that will occur in future years should be provided in the Notes section below the table.)
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Fund Name & # |
Department |
Budget Control Level* |
2011 Expenditures |
2012 Anticipated Expenditures |
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Library General Fund |
Library |
B1ADM |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
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Seattle Center General Fund |
Seattle Center |
SC670 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
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FAS General Fund |
FAS |
A2000 |
$4,600 |
$9,300 |
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TOTAL |
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$6,600 |
$13,300 |
* See budget book to obtain the appropriate Budget Control Level for your department.
Spending/Cash Flow Notes:
The following assumptions were made in calculating spending:
- Vendor fees include cell phone service ($13/month) and revenue collection ($15/month)
- Using currently contracted routine maintenance fee of $150 per charging station per year
- Assuming $0.08/kWhr, 50% battery charge on a 24 kWhr battery pack ($0.96), and use of 50% of available stations once per day
Cost assumptions will be compared in the future to data gathered by the charging stations and fees will be adjusted accordingly if necessary.
Other Implications:
a) Does the legislation have indirect financial implications, or long-term implications?
(If yes, explain them here.)
Charging a per-session fee will allow for the City to recoup expenses for providing this service to the public. This first phase of publicly available EV charging infrastructure was funded by federal ARRA grant monies. In the future, if the City decides to invest in additional charging infrastructure, charging for the use of EV charging stations will allow for a sustainable program.
b) What is the financial cost of not implementing the legislation?
(Estimate the costs to the City of not implementing the legislation, including estimated costs to maintain or expand an existing facility or the cost avoidance due to replacement of an existing facility, potential conflicts with regulatory requirements, or other potential costs.)
The financial cost to the departments of not implementing this legislation would be over $13,000. The charging stations were purchased and are being installed using federal ARRA funds. Without the ability to collect per-session fees, departments won’t have a way to recuperate costs.
c) Does this legislation affect any departments besides the originating department?
(If so, please list the affected department(s), the nature of the impact (financial, operational, etc), and indicate which staff members in the other department(s) are aware of the proposed legislation.)
Finance and Administrative Services (Chris Wiley and Jason Phillips) – operational and financial impacts. FAS is installing the EV charging stations and will be managing the vendor contract. Some of the garages that will have charging stations are managed by FAS.
Seattle Center (Layne Cubell) – operational and financial implications since the Seattle Center will be receiving and managing three charging stations.
Library (Tim Morrison) – operational and financial implications since the Library will be receiving and managing three charging stations.
Parks and Recreation (David Broustis) – future operational and financial implications if the City decides to install charging stations in Parks property.
d) What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives? (Include any potential alternatives to the proposed legislation, such as reducing fee-supported activities, identifying outside funding sources for fee-supported activities, etc.)
The purpose of this legislation is to provide departments with a way to recover costs for installation and operation of publicly available charging stations. An alternative could be to have departments subsidize public EV charging.
e) Is a public hearing required for this legislation?
(If yes, what public hearing(s) have been held to date, and/or what public hearing(s) are planned for the future?)
No
f) Is publication of notice with The Daily Journal of Commerce and/or The Seattle Times required for this legislation?
(For example, legislation related to sale of surplus property, condemnation, or certain capital projects with private partners may require publication of notice. If you aren’t sure, please check with your lawyer. If publication of notice is required, describe any steps taken to comply with that requirement.)
No
g) Does this legislation affect a piece of property?
(If yes, and if a map or other visual representation of the property is not already included as an exhibit or attachment to the legislation itself, then you must include a map and/or other visual representation of the property and its location as an attachment to the fiscal note. Place a note on the map attached to the fiscal note that indicates the map is intended for illustrative or informational purposes only and is not intended to modify anything in the legislation.)
No
h) Other Issues:
Electric Vehicle technology is new and the market is in development. Demonstration projects such as the EV Project will be providing usage data in the next couple of years. Analysis of information captured by the City’s charging stations will also provide useful insight into EV users patterns and preferences. Setting a wide range of EV charging fees will give the City flexibility to adjust such fees accordingly
List attachments to the fiscal note below:
Attachment A: Rate Structure Analysis for Publicly available EV Charging Stations in City Property
Attachment B: Publicly available EV Charging Stations in City Property Revenue/Cost Calculations