A plan to fight greenhouse gas emissions through more EV charging stations in downtown Burlingame fell short of funding, but PG&E stepped in to finish the job.
The city received a grant award from California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project to install five fast charging stations and had a contract for $312,000 with Powerflex, a renewable power infrastructure provider. The company was hired to install the infrastructure but informed the city it could not complete the project due to increased labor and material costs, according to the staff report.
However, the city’s sustainability coordinator Sigalle Michael said Pacific Gas and Electric stepped in and is going to install the electrical power infrastructure. Powerflex will install the charging units.
The addition of the five charging stations adds to the two stations at City Hall, four stations at the train station, three at the community center, six on Broadway and 24 at the Highlands Parking Garage. Michael said the city is looking at Bayside Park for its next addition for charging stations.
“We are trying to encourage the public to reduce pollution and meet state goals for electric vehicles,” Michael said.
The fast-charging stations that will be installed at the Donnelly Parking Garage located behind the city’s library will take an average of 30 minutes to fully charge a vehicle, Michael said.
The city will continue to apply for grants as they come available, Michael said, as it wants to accumulate sufficient amounts of EV charging stations throughout the city.
The charging stations will charge the consumer a base price that essentially recoups the cost the city is using on electricity. The city has no incentive to make a profit off of the charging stations but rather provide a service for its residents and visitors.
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“We just want to support our residents and a lot of Burlingame residents live in older homes with no EV infrastructure so we want to help give them an option,” Michael said.
PG&E spokesperson Paul Doherty issued an emailed statement that stated nearly 500,000 electric vehicles have been sold in the electric company’s service area, representing one in seven EVs in the country.
“PG&E has deployed support infrastructure for more than 5,000 EV charging ports in our service area since 2017,” Doherty said. “Public fast charging is critical to increasing EV adoption as it builds driver confidence in their ability to charge away from home and provides access to drivers who do not have residential charging.”
Of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, 40% come from transportation and by powering zero-emission electric vehicles, the electric company said it’s one of the most impactful measures.
“The state has really strong goals they are trying to meet for electric infrastructure and vehicles,” Michael said. “Overall, the city is trying to support EV and this is one project to do that.”
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(1) comment
Believe me, PG&E is not helping anyone. The ratepayers are footing this bill.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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