Maricopa County approves DOE grant reimbursement plan for EV chargers, limits initial use to county fleet

Maricopa CountyBoard of Supervisors on May 7 approved acceptance of a U.S. Department of Energy reimbursement grant to install electric vehicle charging stations at county facilities, saying the project is already funded in the county capital plan and that chargers will initially serve only county fleet vehicles.

The board approved the grant after Supervisor Lesko asked whether the county would be left on the hook if federal funds were rescinded and who would pay for upkeep. County staff said the project is being advanced with county capital funds and the DOE grant will reimburse those costs; equipment services will maintain the stations and departments that use chargers will be charged through a rate model to recover operational costs.

During a 30-minute discussion, Assistant County Manager Darcy Coburn and Director of Facilities Management CJ Jones said the planned installation is part of the county—s existing capital improvement program and the DOE funds will augment — not replace — budgeted funding. Jones confirmed the grant follows a reimbursement model and that the county would front construction costs to be reimbursed by the federal program. An equipment services representative said routine maintenance will be handled like county fuel dispensers and those costs will be built into departmental charges so users pay for electricity and upkeep.

Supervisor Lesko pressed staff on three points: the risk that federal reimbursement could be withdrawn; who will maintain the chargers; and whether the chargers would be restricted to county vehicles. County staff said the awarding agency had not indicated any intent to withdraw the grant, maintenance will be performed by equipment services with costs included in a rate model, and the county intends to limit access initially to fleet vehicles. Staff said future implementation phases will evaluate whether chargers can be made available to county employees and whether emissions-reduction credits could be generated from the program.

The board voted unanimously to approve the grant acceptance as presented.

County staff said the project is fully funded in the current fiscal-year capital budget regardless of the grant; reimbursements would allow the county to reapply savings to future sites. No dollar amount for the grant was provided in the meeting discussion.