The Honolulu Department of Design and Construction (DDC) briefed the City Council Committee on Energy, Environment and Sustainability on Oct. 14, 2025, about the city’s electric-vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure program, ongoing projects for municipal fleets and buses, and constraints—especially electrical capacity and connection work with Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO).

DDC Director Haco Millis introduced Alan Lee, program administrator for the DDC mechanical and electrical division, who led the technical briefing. Lee described the three levels of EV charging used by the city and contractors: Level 1 (120-volt household charging), Level 2 (240-volt, commonly used for home and public charging), and Level 3 (DC fast charging, 480-volt, for rapid public and fleet charging). Lee said Level 3 chargers typically restore a vehicle to about 80% charge in 20–30 minutes.

Lee reviewed the city’s EV infrastructure history and projects. He said the city received a $400,000 grant in 2012 to install six public chargers and two electric vehicles. More recent work has focused on fleet electrification and bus charging. Key operational projects described include:

- Kalihi Palama bus facility: Level-3 chargers were used to charge the first three electric buses and the site had enough spare electrical capacity for initial chargers; a photovoltaic (PV) system is planned once roof improvements are finished.

- A "Ready Line" at Kalihi Palama where buses are lined up for night charging; that site includes 25 charging dispensers serving 15 buses and a PV system supplying an estimated 12% of charging energy.

- Kapolei Hale fleet project: DDC is integrating a PV canopy and EV chargers at Kapolei Hale to minimize trenching and share conduits; completion of that charging infrastructure was projected late 2025.

- A larger future buildout at the Pearl City bus facility: designs anticipate infrastructure to support dozens of buses (one design phase shown for 76-bus capacity) and possible future battery energy storage to reduce peak-grid demand.

Lee provided a fleet case study: the Honolulu Fire Department messenger vehicle was replaced with a plug-in EV whose battery capacity rose from 16 kWh (older city EVs) to 64 kWh in a 2020 Kia Niro used in the pilot. The messenger unit travels roughly 26,000 miles per year; Lee said the EV operating case showed annual operational savings of roughly $8,000 and a payback in about 2 to 2.4 years despite a higher upfront purchase price. The fire department’s operational needs required a supplemental 12-volt battery and custom equipment (sirens and lights) that added roughly $30,000 in specialized outfitting costs.

Cost and scale: Lee walked the committee through site-level cost differences. DDC reported that projects with significant underground work or hazardous-material remediation (for example, a former cannery site used for chargers) have higher costs. The department said it has invested approximately $18 million to date on public- and fleet-charging infrastructure and that full electrification of the city’s bus fleet will run into multi‑million-dollar infrastructure projects beyond that total.

Grid and permitting constraints: Lee and Director Millis said many existing city facilities were not designed to accommodate high-power EV charging. For some large projects, HECO must install new wiring, transformers or other off-site upgrades; DDC described a recently completed off-site underground conduit job related to the Alapai Transit Center and said additional HECO work will be required for other sites. Millis said options for future large sites include rerouting circuits, bringing new power from off-site, or (in more extreme cases) a new substation.

EV access and equity: Christopher Canas, CCSR’s clean transportation analyst who joined the briefing, said the office has applied for technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy to assess curbside charging feasibility for multi-family neighborhoods and other locations lacking charger access. Canas also said permitting and regulation remain local bottlenecks that the city is reviewing.

Rebates and incentives: Canas told the committee that federal vehicle rebate programs were discontinued as of Sept. 30, 2025, while charger rebate programs remain available through June 30, 2026, and that Hawaii Energy administers some statewide charger incentives. (Canas said project eligibility varies and caps limit participation.)

Battery disposal and recycling: Council members asked about end-of-life lithium-ion battery handling. Canas said HDOT and the Department of Environmental Services are working with stakeholders; state-level planning for battery collection and recycling is underway, and the city will coordinate with those efforts.

Council concerns and follow-up requests: Members asked for larger-scale fleet cost-savings analysis, clarification of total city liabilities for future HECO upgrades, and more detail on options to expand public access (curbside charging, shared-use chargers). DDC and CCSR agreed to follow up with the requested financial comparisons and coordination details.

No formal votes were taken; the briefing was informational. DDC and CCSR said they will return with more detailed briefings and data at the committee’s request.

Sources: Presentations and remarks by Alan Lee (Program Administrator, Mechanical Electrical Division, DDC), Haco Millis (Director, DDC), and Christopher Canas (Clean Transportation Analyst, CCSR).