Peterborough city council has endorsed the awarding of a non-standard procurement contract to Elexicon Group Inc. to purchase and install 16 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports for the use of city vehicles, with the possibility of an additional eight ports for public use in downtown Peterborough should a grant application to the federal government be successful.
The decision was made at council’s general committee meeting on Monday (April 5) and will be considered for final approval by city council at its meeting on Monday, April 25th.
In 2020, the city applied to Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program for a subsidy of 50 per cent of the project operating costs to purchase and install 16
EV charging ports. Due to the pandemic, most of the funds in the federal program were frozen so city council approved an allocation of $282,000 from its climate change reserve fund to proceed with the purchase and installation of the charging ports.
Since then, funds under the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program have become available again, and Elexicon Group Inc. — a company created in 2019 by the merger of Whitby Hydro Energy Services and Veridian Corporation — has become a delivery agent for the federal program.
The city’s application through Elexicon has been approved for an $80,000 federal subsidy for the 16 charging ports ($5,000 per charger). The 16 ports would be used to charge city vehicles at four locations, with eight of the ports to be installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Kennedy Road, four of the ports at the Public Works Operation Centre on Webber Avenue, and two ports each at the King Street Parking Garage and the Transit Bus Barns on Townsend Street.
The city is now also applying through Elexicon for a federal subsidy for 50 per cent of the project costs to purchase and install an additional eight charging ports for public use at two downtown locations. Should the application be successful, four ports would be installed at the Simcoe Street Parking Garage and four ports would be installed in the marina parking lot at Del Crary Park.
The eight public EV charging ports would be level 2, which can charge a vehicle from zero to 80 per cent in around four hours. They will be free to use with paid parking. Parking in the spots where the ports are installed would be restricted to charging electric vehicles with a maximum time limit of four hours per vehicle.
The city estimates the annual cost of electricity for the eight public charging ports at $6,000 per year in the first year of operation, with the cost to be covered in future operating budgets.
The total estimated project cost for the 16 EV charging ports for city vehicles is $155,700 plus tax, with an additional $84,000 plus tax for the eight EV charging ports for public vehicles (if the federal subsidy is approved). Along with a $20,000 project contigency, the total project cost would be $263,918.72.
The electrical work required to install the city and public EV charging at the six locations would need to be completed by November 1, 2022 according to the requirements of the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.
While the city’s purchasing by-law normally requires a competitive procurement process for amounts exceeding $100,000, an exception can be made when only one supplier is able to meet the procurement requirements.
“The city treasurer has considered this matter and is in agreement with a non-competitive procurement for the supply and installation of EV chargers,” reads an April 4th memo to general committee from Michael Papadacos, the city’s interim commissioner of infrastructure and planning services.
