Department: Management and Budget
Department Head/Elected Official: Daniel Ramos, Executive Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Commercial Paper
Project ID (if applicable): NI041
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Electric Vehicle Pilot project in the additional amount of $1,090,000 for a total CP funding of $2,850,000.
end
Background and Discussion:
Commercial Paper A-1 is used to (1) pay contractual obligations incurred or to be incurred for the construction of and the purchase of fixtures, equipment and machinery for or in connection with the County's criminal and civil justice centers, the County's firefighter training facility, (2) pay contractual obligations incurred or to be incurred for the purchase of automobiles and other vehicles, equipment and machinery, including computers, materials and supplies for the operations of the County precincts and departments and other authorized needs and purposes including services provided by engineers, architects, attorneys, auditors, financial advisors.
Commercial Paper is being requested for Electric Vehicle Pilot project and is expected to be repaid within the next three fiscal years either through bonds, budgetary means, or pay-as-you-go sources. This is for approval for allocation of commercial paper for a previously approved project within the previously authorized amount.
HB 1869 compliance confirmed by: Scott Lemond, Special Assistant County Attorney, April 29, 2022.
Expected Impact:
The electric vehicle (EV) pilot project with the Harris County Engineering Department (Engineering) and Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) will build upon the existing fleet electrification efforts started by Harris County Pollution Control Services in 2021. The project seeks to acquire 19 EVs with associated charging infrastructure at multiple locations in the County at an estimated cost of $1.37M to be operated and maintained by Harris County Engineering, HCTRA, and Universal Services. The benefits of the project will be to study and verify the reduced operational maintenance cost and reduced emissions of EVs compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. This will also increase operational readiness for a larger deployment of EVs in the future and help establish a framework for other departments to follow as they electrify their fleet. Given supply chain issues, the proposed project implementation timeline is estimated to be between 6-36 months.
Alternative Options:
This EV pilot project is currently the most optimal solution towards reducing the economic and environmental impacts of Harris County’s fleet. Based on the data collected from the EVolve Houston and eIQ Mobility study, the rising cost of ICE vehicles has meant that ICE vehicles and EVs are nearly at purchase price parity. Also, the increased price of gasoline and diesel fuel has further increased savings associated with the operations of EVs. As evidenced by the EVolve Houston and eIQ Mobility study, the commercial availability, increased driving range, and diversity of vehicle types has allowed EVs to become technically and cost effectively competitive to ICE vehicles. The main environmental benefit is related to the EVs overall carbon reduction impact and the clean air benefits associated with zero tailpipe emissions when compared to ICE vehicles.
Other possible alternatives to EVs would be continuing to use hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), which still require gasoline input, or continuing with the purchase of ICE vehicles.
The impact of delaying this project for a year or indefinitely would result in an inability to study the small-scale electrification of Harris County’s fleet, which could potentially result in the inability to capture the $11.8M NPV savings and 50% emissions reductions from electrifying 30% of the County’s light-duty fleet. Also, due to supply chain issues and high demand for EVs, there is already a delay in delivering certain EVs to end users. For instance, there may be an 18-36 month delay in the delivery of Ford F-150 Lightnings due to high demand, so it would be ideal to place the order in the near-term and lock-in current pricing. This would also allow the County time to build out the supporting EV infrastructure needed before vehicles arrive.
The stakeholders in the project are Engineering and HCTRA in coordination with Office of County Administration, and Universal Services. These groups have been jointly involved in applying the findings in the EVolve Houston and eIQ Mobility study and carefully selected vehicles and EVSE locations that meet the need of end users.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
X Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
11/30/2021 |
265 |
Transmittal by Office of County Administration to provide an update to Commissioners Court on key findings from the EVolve Houston and eIQ Mobility study. |
|
05/10/2022 |
15 |
Request for approval of a Final Investment Memo for the Procurement of Electric Vehicles (EV) and Procurement and Installation of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) for Engineering and Toll Road for the Electric Vehicle Pilot project for an initial amount of $1,389,322 and request for approval of initial commercial paper funding for Universal Services in the amount of $560,000. |
|
11/15/2022 |
20 |
Request for approval of a Final Investment Memo for the Procurement of Electric Vehicles (EV) and Procurement of Installation of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) for Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Universal Services for $2,466,398. |
|
03/14/2023 |
22 |
Request for approval of CP funding for $1,200,000 |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
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Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Commercial Paper |
$ |
$1,090,000 |
$1,090,000 |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$1,090,000 |
$1,090,000 |
$ |
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Total Funding Request |
$ |
$1,090,000 |
$1,090,000 |
$ |
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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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Note: Commercial Paper is issued in increments of $5,000, and the excess is not available to be spent by the department.
Anticipated Court Date: October 8, 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: Amy Perez, Deputy Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget
Attachments (if applicable): N/A