*Accept grant for $1,780,591 from U.S. Department of Energy, authorize an Intergovernmental Agreement for the Park and Charge: Leveraging Utility Pole-Mounted Chargers to Increase Access to Overnight EV Charging in Portland, Oregon grant, and appropriate $750,000 in FY 2023-24

The purpose of this ordinance is to have City Council accept a federal grant for $1,780,591 from the United States Department of Energy (US DOE). The “Park and Charge” grant provides an opportunity to develop a utility pole-mounted EV charging network focused on filling private sector gaps and providing access to affordable and reliable overnight charging to communities that lack access to home charging. This grant will allow the City to begin implementation of the City-adopted Electric Vehicle Charging in the Right-of-Way Code Project [Resolution 191187] with a strong focus on equity through addressing access to an affordability of EV charging, which is an obstacle to EV ownership for renters and residents with garages or driveways. This grant requires at least a 50% match. Portland General Electric (PGE) is committed to providing over $850,000 in matching funds, including a $100,000 award to the City from PGE’s Transportation Matching Funds program that was brought to City Council for acceptance in a separate ordinance. PacifiCorps is committed to providing over $325,000 in matching funds.

This funding will cover City staff time in FY 2023-2026, staff time for partners and consultants, project costs for community engagement and outreach activities, project costs for a siting analysis, and travel for dissemination activities. This federal grant required at least a 50% match. The total match provided is $1,781,969 and is fulfilled through the following commitments: Match of $598,415 from the City of Portland through staff time that comes from existing City resources to support the project; and In kind match of $757,864 from Portland General Electric, which includes staff time and 40 EV chargers; and Cash match of $100,000 through the Portland General Electric Transportation Matching Funds Award; and In kind match of $325,690 from PacifiCorps, which includes staff time and 10 EV chargers. The total budget for the project is $3,562,560 (low confidence estimate) which includes the local match of $1,781,969. This grant has a strong public-private partnership with local utilities Portland General Electric and PacifiCorps, both of which will own, operate and maintain the EV chargers in this project. This means that there will be no initial or ongoing operations and maintenance costs to the City. The project number is T01344. The grant number is TR000368. The FY 2023-2024 budget is hereby amended as follows: GRANTS FUND Fund – 217 Business Area – TR00 Bureau Program Expenses – $750,000

Community impacts: This project seeks to develop a utility pole-mounted EV charging network focused on filling private sector gaps and providing access to affordable and reliable overnight charging to communities that lack access to home charging. EV drivers predominantly charge their vehicles at home to maximize cost effectiveness and convenience, but renters must rely on their landlords to make upgrades or seek more expensive public charging. As state and federal rebates have helped EVs achieve price parity, access to, and affordability of charging have emerged as the main obstacles to EV ownership. This barrier disproportionately impacts black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities in Portland as they have lower homeownership rates compared to White households. This project builds upon successful pilots and projects in other municipalities to demonstrate a model of public charging that prioritizes investments in underserved communities. Community involvement: PBOT has been engaged in policy and code work related to EV charging in the public right-of-way for over a year through the Electric Vehicle Charging in the Public Right-of-Way Code Project [Resolution 191187]. As part of this process, staff have interviewed key stakeholders from utilities, private for-hire transportation, and local electrification and sustainability groups. Staff have also talked to community members and participated in the BPS EV Ready Code project where further insights into community opinions around EV charging were gained. Finally, staff engaged with parking district advisory committees, with disability and accessibility advocates, and with industry stakeholders during this process. Stakeholders included representatives from seven international EV charging companies and local utilities. Additionally, this project advances Action T-7 (make it easier to use electric vehicles if you can’t charge at home) in the Climate Emergency Workplan [Resolution 37585], which had a robust community involvement process.