Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Consumer Protection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County weights and measures division readies EV test equipment and reports 251 complaints in 2024; seeks public outreach improvements
Summary
Santa Clara County’s weights and measures division told the Hewlett Committee it inspected more than 22,000 measuring devices in fiscal 2024, will purchase new test standards to meet an expanded electric-vehicle charging-station testing mandate, and received 251 consumer complaints last year.
Santa Clara County’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency presented an annual update on the weights and measures program to the Hewlett Committee on Sept. 18, highlighting inspection volumes, a forthcoming purchase of EV charging-station test equipment and the program’s consumer complaint work.
“Sometimes when scales and pumps are off even slightly, working families pay the price,” said Edgar Olasco, director of the Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency, introducing new Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer Priscilla Yeney. Yeney and staff described the program’s workload: more than 22,000 measuring devices were inspected in fiscal year 2023–24, point-of-sale price verification is conducted on a biannual schedule, and package quantity audits and petroleum-quality inspections are routine program elements.
Weights and Measures Deputy described a pilot EV charger testing effort using borrowed state equipment and said county staff achieved a roughly 95% compliance rate on tested chargers. The county has approval to buy two test units — one for AC (slower) chargers and one for DC fast chargers — and staff said Assembly Bill 2037 will expand their testing responsibilities for public chargers starting Jan. 1, 2026.
“We anticipate a thousand more EV chargers that are gonna need to be tested,” the deputy said, noting the county borrowed state equipment this year to train staff and that the county’s planned purchases will enable routine compliance checks of higher-power DC chargers.
The division also reported that it received 251 consumer complaints in fiscal year 2023–24 and follows complaints within one to two business days. Staff outlined outreach plans including a new county-branded inspection sticker and a GIS-based mapping approach to identify geographic complaint trends and reduce underreporting in less-resourced areas. The deputy said the program will expand language access and use outreach to encourage residents to report problems.
Committee action: Supervisor Arenas moved to receive the report; Chair Abakova seconded and the committee approved the action by roll call. Committee members encouraged staff to pursue user-facing reporting tools and to return with EV-testing status as equipment is acquired.
Ending: Weights and measures staff asked for ongoing county support to purchase EV testing equipment and to expand consumer outreach in multiple languages.
