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Page 2 of 4 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org <br />BACKGROUND <br />On October 23, 2023, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2530 to update specific fees for the City <br />Manager’s Office, Community Development and Transportation, Fire, Library, Parks, Recreation and <br />Community Services, Police, Public Works, and Special Events. The adopted fees were recommended <br />following a comprehensive study by the Matrix Consulting Group (Matrix). The purpose of conducting the <br />fee study was to identify the actual cost of providing certain City services and to develop justified fee <br />recommendations for full-cost recovery, as the last comprehensive citywide fee study was performed in <br />2017. <br />One of the fees evaluated in the study was the Electric Vehicle (EV) charging fee for City-owned EV <br />charging stations. Due to changes in legislation, the City was required to change its method of collecting <br />the payment from an hourly to a kilowatt-hour (kWh) based fee. The Matrix study resulted in a full-cost <br />recovery calculation of $2.23 per kWh, which the City Council adopted through Ordinance No. 2530. <br />Although the adopted EV charging fee was based on the City’s total cost of service at the time, staff <br />recognized that it was substantially higher than the fees charged by public and private charging operators <br />in the area and would likely affect affordability for community members who wished to charge their <br />vehicles at City facilities. Therefore, staff presented the Council with a plan to implement the fee with a <br />phased approach as shown below. Th City Council ultimately adopted this plan through Resolution No. <br />16194 on December 18, 2023. <br />Year EV Charging Fee % of Adopted Fee <br />2024 $0.56/kWh 25% <br />2025 $1.12/kWh 50% <br />2026 $1.67/kWh 75% <br />2027 $2.23/kWh 100% <br />In 2024, staff did not receive any negative feedback from customers, as the rate of $0.56 per kWh was <br />comparable to the rates charged at other public and private locations. However, beginning in 2025, staff <br />started receiving feedback from users who were displeased with the increased rate of $1.12 per kWh, <br />which, in their opinion, was too high. <br />In an effort to identify potential ways to address user concerns, PWS contracted with Matrix to re-evaluate <br />the EV charging rate using updated cost and usage data. Based on the EV Charging Fee Analysis Memo <br />(Attachment B), Matrix determined that, even with current increases in usage compared to the data <br />analyzed in the previous study, the City would need to charge $1.38 per kWh to continue administering <br />City-owned EV chargers and achieve full cost recovery. The City’s current fee of $1.12 per kWh is lower <br />than the full-cost recovery calculation. Any effort to make the rate more competitive while maintaining <br />the current business model would require the City to place a greater cost burden on its general fund. <br />As part of the study, City staff also requested that Matrix evaluate a proposal that would allow the City to <br />outsource the administration and maintenance of chargers altogether to an outside consultant who would <br />agree to cap the rate at $0.70 per kWh. Matrix determined that this approach was the most viable option <br />7.B. - Page 2 of 8 <br />129