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County hires consultant to study fleet electrification and community EV charging; public engagement planned
Summary
Los Alamos County and consultant Stantec are studying an internal fleet conversion plan and a communitywide EV charging plan that will assess vehicle needs, charging siting and equity; public visioning and a survey are planned and staff will coordinate with departments including DPU and the laboratory.
Los Alamos County staff and consultant Stantec briefed the Board of Public Utilities on April 2 on a study to evaluate converting the county's vehicle fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) and to develop a communitywide EV charging plan.
"There are three main components to this project," Angelica Gudule, the county's sustainability manager, told the board. She said the study has an internal focus on fleet conversion, a communitywide charging component, and an engagement strategy. Stantec will inventory technology options, review vehicle operations and replacement policies, and assess facility charging requirements to minimize capital costs.
Stantec will collect county fleet usage data and perform site visits, develop a base-case versus zero-emissions scenario, estimate energy and charger needs, and produce a financial analysis and funding options. Gudule identified key project team members including project manager Eric Plopper and DPU staff Mariano Montoya, Mariano Valdez and fleet manager Pete Mondragon. The study began in February; staff said they are in data collection and plan a public visioning session and survey ahead of draft and final plans.
Board members raised operational and policy questions during the session. Board member Matt urged the study team to engage the school district on bus electrification, describing school buses as "one of the low-hanging fruits in the community for community electrification." Gudule said the draft scope includes outreach to Los Alamos Public Schools and other partners.
Member Kurt asked whether certain emergency or life-safety vehicles would be excluded from electrification. "There's gonna be a bucket of vehicles that are just gonna be exempt or not going to be subject to this program," he said, citing hospital generator and fire apparatus requirements. Gudule responded that the team will meet with department heads including police and fire to identify vehicles that should not be analyzed because of operational or regulatory constraints.
Board members also asked about coordination with Los Alamos National Laboratory, the need to address building and code changes, and whether the study will model future technology such as bidirectional charging and faster-charging capabilities. Gudule said the consultant will prepare scenarios and that staff will follow up to ask Stantec to include bidirectional charging and future-technology considerations on their radar. Members also asked for lifecycle carbon comparisons; one board member suggested the county track average fleet vehicle mileage before retirement to judge whether EV conversion reduces lifecycle carbon.
Why it matters: County fleet fuel use is a component of municipal greenhouse gas emissions and converting vehicles and expanding public charging are central to the county's climate mitigation objectives. The study will inform where chargers are needed, how much grid capacity is required, and what capital and operating costs might look like for the county and for the public.
Next steps: Stantec will complete the fleet and facilities assessment, run demand and suitability analyses for public charging siting (including equity and utility feeder capacity), hold public outreach sessions, and present draft and final plans to the BPU for comment. Community residents, boards and businesses will be invited to a visioning session and to respond to the public survey, Gudule said.
