Transition to electric fleet looms large in IID’s future expenses
IMPERIAL — In the course of crafting its 2021 strategic plan, one of the issues the Imperial Irrigation District’s Board of Directors has considered is how better to address “unfunded” state and federal mandates; that is, rules the public utility is expected to follow out of its own pocket.
There no clearer example of such a mandate that California’s guidelines for electric vehicles. In less than three years, when looking for a new vehicle for its fleet, IID will be purchasing electric cars, equipment and trucks.
IID’s goal is for its fleet to be totally electric by 2035. Currently, IID has between 800 and 900 vehicles in its fleet. The estimated cost of a typical electric vehicle – not counting pickups and semis – currently ranges from $55,000 to $65,000, so the cost of the transition will be quite expensive.
The district has already started on this path by using more battery powered vehicles.
IID now has eight electric sedans, nine hybrid sedans and 12 hybrid troubleshooter bucket trucks.
The district also has 17 other pieces of line construction equipment that contain a special idle mitigation system that must be charged every evening.
IID has eight electric vehicle charging stations for the all-electric vehicles and 40 charging pedestals throughout the Imperial and Coachella Valley service territory for electric, hybrid and idle mitigation vehicles and pieces of equipment.
Most of the IID charging stations are at the district’s main office in Imperial.
Even though the all-electric regulations have not yet been made well known, staff is planning to initiate the replacement of the existing fleet with all-electric vehicles beginning in 2024, said Public Affairs and Communication Officer Antonio Ortega.
Costs and required infrastructure have not yet been completely determined, but these components will be addressed as part of the district’s strategic planning process.
IID Director JB Hamby said the big concern about this unfunded mandate is the increased numbers of vehicles the IID will need.
Trucks the IID uses are now operating 24 hours a day seven days a week by as many as three shifts of employees.
Currently, all that has to be done is to add fuel when the gas gauge approaches E, but with electric vehicles they would need to be recharged for hours.
Hamby said he thinks that because of this, IID will need a lot more vehicles in reserve to use while other ones are being charged. He said he didn’t necessarily think it would be necessary to have a backup vehicle for every single one being recharged, but he speculated the increase in fleet size could be significant.
“If you need to gas up a vehicle you do it,” he said. “You can’t wait hours for it to charge. You can’t charge it on the go.”
The result, he said, will be a higher cost since more electric vehicles will be needed.
Because this unfunded mandate will have to come out of IID’s budget, Hamby said he thinks the district will have to be extremely efficient to be able to afford the transition.
While not wanting to raise electric and water rates, he said it could come to that if another solution isn’t found.