Councillors are looking to spark a good deal with a new partner in replacing and upgrading the city’s downtown Barrie electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE).
A motion to have staff issue a request for proposals, and be authorized to enter into an agreement with the successful third-party service provider, for the replacement and upgrade of the current downtown EVSE, has been paused.
On Wednesday night, council referred it back to corporate facility staff to explore third-party, turn-key service providers where the city would retain ownership of the electric vehicle infrastructure and would contain revenue sharing with the city. Staff would then report back.
Coun. Gary Harvey said the infrastructure for these 48, Level 2 chargers in the downtown and waterfront were paid for by Tesla and donated to the city.
“Maintaining control of such an asset is essential, as the other chargers the city has with a third-party company at our community centres generates no income for the city, however they take up two parking spots at each location that the city maintains,” he said. “Not what I would call a good financial deal for the city.
“I want to ensure that we don't have a future deal like that for the remaining 48 chargers," Harvey added.
How much money is potentially at stake?
Harvey said charging at the lower end, $2 an hour, averaging three hours of use a day for 365 days a year has revenue of $105,120 at the city’s 48 chargers.
“The last thing I want to see happen is a third party coming in, not having to pay for the already installed infrastructure that the city owns, and making all the money off our residents and tourists,” said the Ward 7 councillor.
“Revenue sharing is critical for these 48 chargers, as it has not been realized with the existing third-party chargers at the community centres where we have seen no revenue coming in,” Harvey added. "If revenue sharing cannot be realized then it may make more sense to continue with the program as it currently exists until an appropriate partner can be found.”
In the original motion, a new partner would be responsible for providing and installing the replacement and/or upgrading of existing EVSE in the downtown with universal charging stations, at no cost to the city.
Decisions on the number and location of EVSE, in consultation with the city, would also be its responsibility, as would be the management of operational aspects of the EVSE — including maintenance, client services, as well as setting, collecting and overseeing the fee and charging services, along with operating costs.
Rick Pews, the city’s director of corporate facilities, has said the intent is to outsource the operations and maintenance of these charging stations, the entire infrastructure, to a third party, so the city wouldn’t have any costs. He has said the city doesn’t have the resources to maintain the network as it is.
In 2017, council approved what it called the Tesla charging infrastructure investment, which allowed for the installation of public EVSE infrastructure at no capital cost to the city. A total of 54 public charging stations were installed in the downtown, strategically dispersed across the Collier Street Parkade, Barrie Public Library, Heritage Park and Barrie Marina. All were fully operational by 2018.
In 2021, the city partnered with Alectra, backed by the support of the Natural Resources Canada zero-emission vehicle infrastructure program. This resulted in 10 additional electric vehicle (EV) charging stations being installed at East Bayfield Community Centre, Peggy Hill Team Community Centre, Allandale Recreation Centre and Sadlon Arena.
Alectra assumed responsibility for all operational, capital and maintenance costs and services associated with the electric charge stations at these recreation facilities.
Demand and use of the downtown EVSE has increased since their installation. There was an increase in electricity consumption of 60 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year.
In 2023, approximately 50 per cent of the total downtown EVSE electricity use occurred at the Heritage Park site, with the Collier Street Parkade accounting for 27 per cent, and the library and marina contributing 16 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
In the initial four years of operation, there were minimal maintenance requirements. Nevertheless, with the expiration of the warranty period for the EV charge stations, there has been a growing number of breakdown incidents, resulting in increased downtime for the electric vehicle chargers.
Last year, city staff were dispatched to 16 equipment failure complaints from residents, and had to replace seven of the charge stations due to failure.
The charging stations consist of a combination of universal and Tesla units, but lacking 'smart' functions. The absence of smart features restricts staff from diagnosing or remotely addressing equipment downtime effectively. As well, staff are unable to implement charging fees for use and accessing utilization and operational data from these units.
So staff recommended a partnership with a third-party service provider to rejuvenate the city’s downtown and marina ESVE infrastructure.
The turn-key service model is designed to mirror the current arrangement with Alectra for the recreation facility charge stations, involving the management of operational aspects, maintenance and client services, as well as overseeing fee and charging services.
The existing Alectra agreement incurs no capital or ongoing operating costs for the city. Alectra and other vendors would be able to submit proposals for a new contract.
