2022-05-19 Leeward Exh A (Public Testimony re Item 2 Council Bill No 120 PL-CC-2022-000001)

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ZELCO: Can you folks hear me okay? VITOUSEK: We can. ZELCO: Okay, good, I'm in a high traffic area. Aloha and good morning, I'm Jennifer Zelko, Hawaiian Electric's Director of Government and Community Affairs, and we are testifying in support of the County of Hawaii Bill 120, with comments. I did want to acknowledge Councilmember Kimball and Planning Director Kern's leadership and work on this effort. The company respectfully suggests the following amendments to the measure: For Section 25-4-54.1(a), "All newly constructed places of public accommodation shall have the following electric vehicle chargers, installed in dedicated parking spaces, and actively maintained in working order, for each increment of 50 parking stalls." So basically, we are recommending the addition of the word"actively"before the word"maintained" and then after the words "working order,"removing "at all times." Since 2013 Hawaiian Electric has operated electric vehicle fast charging stations across our service territory as part of our pilot program. There are six dedicated sites on Hawaii Island currently, and during this pilot we've actively worked to ensure that all of our what we call direct current fast charging or DC fast charger stations are in working order; however, with a vast array of issues that can impair these systems, repair times do vary depending on the service required. For example, at Puna Kai Town Center our DC fast charger recently experienced a beetle infestation inside of the actual station, which required the unit to be cleaned before it could operate effectively. And then another example was in Hilo at our Hilo main office, we had ordered replacement parts, when the wrong parts came in, it created an 18-week lag in time of repair. And as the largest provider of EV fast charging in the State, we are working to improve certainly our reliability. We understand the importance of reliable charging solutions, as more drivers are looking to EVs for mobility. Looking forward, Hawaiian Electric did a critical backbone study really looking at the need for public and private EV charging infrastructure over the next 10 years, so really until 2030. There is a need of about seven times more charging, including private, commercial, and residential charging in this State. Specifically for Hawaii Island, it depicted both high and low scenarios of public charging; on the high end we were looking at a need of about 756 Level 2 charging ports and 132 DC fast chargers, and on the low end, the lower scenario, we would need at least 285 Level 2 charging ports and 52 DC fast charger. And this insight has really helped us focus on programs, including the recently Public Utilities- approved[inaudible] commercial pilot, and that pilot will provide make-ready infrastructure for a publicly available EV charging systems available to commercial properties or fleet owners, multi-unit dwellings, and we are looking at basically providing financial support and resources to commercial customers looking to install these chargers. This new pilot program will help at least the places of accommodation that's partially defined in this bill in meeting the State and County EV charging system requirements. I think these programs are going to help the growing need, but it's really only just a small fraction of the forecasted need, as I mentioned those numbers earlier. Additional resources, investment, support, and collaboration, both private and public, will need to happen in order to ensure there is adequate EV charging infrastructure installed. 2 EXHIBIT A