Last night, the Lodi City Council voted to move forward with a grant application to install 93 EV charging stations in the city by 2030. The grant would cover 80% of the estimated $15M cost to install a network of 93 EV charging stations around the city. Locations were selected around the city that were deemed best suited due to proximity to transit hubs, multi-family housing, existing supportive infrastructure, and on data based on vehicular travel trends. The Chamber supports the pursuit of this grant opportunity to offset investment in EV infrastructure, which the city has to consider with the state's electrification goals. Without this grant, there is currently no funding mechanism for these improvements, and no plan from Lodi Electric to fund them through rate increases. The grant could jumpstart the work in building out delivery infrastructure, however the big question remains about how the actual charging stations will be built and who will operate and maintain the chargers.

During the presentation, a graph was shown on the rate of EV adoption in Lodi leading up to the proposed 2035 rule which will outlaw the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles. The consultant on the project estimated that there will be 24K light duty vehicles in the city by 2035. At last count in 2023 that number was 600, with the consultant stating there has been a ‘significant’ increase (but did not specify the actual number). Based on this projection, there would need to be over 600 additional public charging stations needed within the city, with a build-out cost estimated currently at around $50M. That includes the $15M specified for the initial 93 stations referenced above. 

Questions also remain around how Lodi Electric will be able to deliver the electricity needed to power all these proposed charging stations, even after PG&E installs a new 230kV line that will increase the grid's capacity. This grant would provide funding for Lodi Electric to invest in the transformers and other delivery equipment needed to build out the charger network. This is a huge opportunity as other municipalities and utilities are struggling with their build out of EV charging infrastructure. A survey of EV charging station developers found that electric grid capacity was the top issue they faced, and increasingly they have found they are unable to procure adequate electricity from utilities. Utilities have also used dynamic pricing to curb EV charging during peak use, spiking the cost of powering cars to uneconomical levels. At the meeting last night, there was acknowledgment that challenging times are ahead for Lodi Electric to meet the increased electrical load of EV charging stations and commercial and residential development at the same time. It is difficult to keep up with the state's aggressive goals.

So how will this infrastructure be built? Three separate business models were proposed at last night’s meeting.

Public-Private Partnership – This would be a collaboration between the city and private companies. The city would provide land or financial incentives, and private companies would build the chargers. This type of partnership would most likely be the most efficient and cost-effective strategy for build-out. The question is who collects the charging revenue and how is it split between the city and the private investors?

Municipal Utility Owned Infrastructure – The EV chargers would be built and maintained by Lodi Electric. The cost of installation would be higher, and the pace of installation would be slower. Currently Lodi Electric does not have the capability internally to maintain an EV charging system.

Open Access Network (Current System) – This is where either Lodi Electric or private companies build EV charging stations, maintain them independently, and collect the revenue on each station separately. The city would have to use grants or other incentives to property owners or companies to invite private investment, as charging stations are not yet profitable on their own.

The grant application will be filed next week, and while it is being reviewed, the city will be considering these different models for implementation. The goal is to have an EV master plan developed by November of 2024. This should be around the time it will be known if the grant has been received. I am very skeptical about the level of adoption of EV laid out in last night’s presentation. It is relieving to know that a large chunk of the grant money can be spent bolstering Lodi Electric’s infrastructure to support future charging stations at a pace that will match up with demand. That way, as our capacity increases with the proposed 230kV line, and EV adoption has reached a level where chargers are profitable, we can efficiently build out the network with privately installed charging stations at little to no cost to existing Lodi Electric rate payers.