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Subcommittee approves $100,000 grant for 60 public electric vehicle chargers
Summary
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee approved sending to the full Board a resolution authorizing the Department of the Environment to accept $100,000 from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to help install 60 publicly available electric vehicle chargers on municipal property and garages; locations under consideration include libraries, the airport and a Bayview redevelopment site.
The San Francisco Budget and Finance Subcommittee voted to send a resolution to the full Board authorizing the Department of the Environment to accept a $100,000 grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to help cover materials and installation costs for 60 publicly available electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
Bob Hayden of the San Francisco Department of the Environment told the committee the grant covers materials, conduit and wiring for chargers planned at municipal locations and city-owned garages. The department expects to install 60 chargers in the downtown area, with additional public chargers at the airport and at several commercial properties; sites under active consideration included public library branches, the zoo and a Bayview Hunters Point redevelopment site.
Public commenters raised questions about access and liability. Douglas Yap, a city resident, said he feared the chargers could primarily serve public employees and asked who would be liable if a vehicle were damaged while charging. Joseph Aquila, representing San Francisco State, asked whether municipal chargers would displace private charging stations and whether they would be limited to city residents or available to commuters.
Supervisor Ross Merkremi asked about the source and metering of electricity. Hayden said municipal chargers will draw power from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and that modern chargers include communications and monitoring software that can report energy draw and usage patterns without identifying individual users. Merkremi moved to forward the item with a recommendation to the full Board; the motion passed without objection. Chair Carmen Chu asked the department to follow up with members of the public about concerns regarding interaction with private stations and liability.
Next steps: the resolution will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on 2011-05-10 for final action.
