Department: Universal Services
Department Head/Elected Official: Sindhu Menon
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Grant
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable):
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by Universal Services for approval to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for grant funds in the amount of $15 million, with a $3.75 million private sector match, for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Community Grant Program.
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Background and Discussion:
Established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or BIL), the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, distributed by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Planning, Environment and Realty, aims to accelerate an electrified and alternative fuel transportation system that is convenient, affordable, reliable, equitable, accessible, and safe.
The Community Charging and Fueling Program Grants (Community Program) has made available $350 million and will strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure, hydrogen fueling infrastructure, propane fueling infrastructure, and natural gas fueling infrastructure located on public roads or in other publicly accessible locations. The goals of the CFI Program are to 1) supplement, not supplant, necessary private sector investment; 2) complement existing Federal programs; 3) facilitate broad public access to a national charging and alternative fuel infrastructure network to accelerate the adoption of zero emissions vehicles; 4) implement Justice40 objectives, lower transportation costs, and increase economic opportunity; 5) advance job quality, workforce development, and workforce equity; and 6) reduce greenhouse gas and vehicle-related emissions.
Universal Services, the Office of County Administration, and the Office of the County Engineer have partnered to pursue this funding opportunity in pursuit of goals outlined in the County’s Climate Action Plan.
Harris County is the third most populous county in the U.S., covering a wide range of communities, both urban and suburban. Harris County residents have been purchasing EVs for the past decade, but the charging infrastructure installed so far has left some communities behind. Infrastructure has been focused on major thoroughfares and highways, as well as higher-income areas inside Houston proper.
Through of analysis of registered EVs in the county compared with publicly available charging stations, we found that there are significant populations with .05 or less Level 3 charging ports to EVs within a 2-mile area. Harris County hopes to close this gap. In addition, we have selected to locations for alternative fuel stations that can be utilized by the Port of Houston, which will fuel vehicles with propane, reducing reliance on diesel-fueled transportation of goods in the region.
Harris County has compiled data to create maps that show several important overlapping factors that allowed us to create selection criteria and a rubric to evaluate potential sites. (Rubric, map, and list of locations can be found in Proposed Charging Locations attachment). Each location chosen will be equipped with safety mitigations such as CCTV, fencing, adequate lighting, ADA-compliant charging ports and police patrol, allowing residents to safely charge vehicles.
If selected, Harris County will carry out an RFP process in line with County procurement standards and FHWA guidelines to select a vendor that will be responsible for installation, maintenance and day-to-day operations of the charging stations, as well as the required 20% of non-federal cost share.
Expected Impact:
Applying for and receiving an award for this grant will give residents more opportunities to utilize EVs in their daily lives. We believe building more charging stations will encourage EV adoption among residents, which aligns with the County’s Climate Action Plan and TxDOT plans to reduce emissions and increase the percentage of EVs sold by 2030. The overall goals of job creation, emission reduction and County fleet electrification will all be addressed through more charging infrastructure installations.
Alternative Options:
Missing this funding opportunity will dictate that future infrastructure be fully funded by the County and/or private entities without federal support under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
x Transportation
_ Flooding
x Environment
x Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Non-Labor |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Grant |
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$ |
$15,000,000 |
$ |
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Other |
$ |
$ |
$3,750,000 |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Current Budget |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
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$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Request |
$ |
$ |
$18,750,000 |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: August 27, 2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Christopher Vieira - Deputy Director of Sustainability and EV, Universal Services; Lisa Lin - Director of Sustainability, OCA; Rosalie Brockman - Director of Sustainability, Engineering
Attachments (if applicable):
Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program - Notice of Funding Opportunity
Proposed Charging Locations