City considers truck charging station near White Slough

With automobile manufacturers building more electric vehicles, the City of Lodi is considering building charging stations for the trucking industry near White Slough

City staff presented the Lodi City Council with three possible options for providing retail electric service to potential customers in the vicinity of the Lodi Energy Center on Interstate 5 at a Tuesday morning shirtsleeve session.

Jeff Berkheimer, Lodi Electric Utility director, said the city owns more than 1,000 acres of land near the treatment plant, but the Northern California Power Agency owns and operates the energy center.

“What we’re trying to determine is if any acreage turned out to be developed or utilized for commercial purposes, how could the electric utility and city provide reliable and sustainable electric service to customers under existing tariffs, and what would it cost to build out the infrastructure required,” Berkheimer said.

The first option presented would utilize existing electrical breakers near the power center, but engineering costs, as well as building a distribution substation and other equipment would make the total cost $2.89 million, Berkheimer said.

However, he said that option would not be feasible to provide retail electric service to commercial or industrial customers.

Feasible options involve building new transmission substations, distribution substations, feeders and switching stations. The total cost could be as much as $18.35 million.

City manager Steve Schwabauer said he has fielded questions from the council, economic development entities, and vehicle charging station developers — largely in the trucking industry — about building near White Slough over the last 18 months.

He said the area was an obvious location for charging station because of the proximity to the electrical plant. The plan being suggested by developers is to build a solar farm in the area, but use the city’s stations as a backup power source. The stations would not be a large revenue source for the city, though.

“There will ultimately be a hub for transportation, especially electrically charged trucks, throughout our state,” Schwabauer said. “We’re a logical location for that hub, and if we were to become that hub, do we get the benefits of having manufacturers close to that hub. It is a bit of a battle to come. We’re not encouraging us to go forward, but it is not without some understanding there could be long-term benefits to the city if we were able to position ourselves as a hub. When I say benefit to city, I think it's a benefit that would roll down to all our citizens, but it is a very big bet on a very big if.”

In a letter read by City Clerk Jennifer Cusmir, resident Mike Lusk said he had been fighting for a backup energy connection on the western side of the city for years, but staff had told him the project would be too costly.

He said the only way he would support the project was if it was designed to backup Lodi Electric Utility, not a private developer’s project.

“Who is going to pay for all (the new) infrastructure outside city limits. I hope you are not suggesting the LEU ratepayer foot the cost either through a pay rate increase or utility bills,” he said. “I still argue the land at White Slough belongs to the White Slough facility, and not for general use by the city for whatever they want unless the utility is compensated for the use.”

Schwabauer said while the land is owned by the city, Lusk’s contention is that any development at White Slough should be for the benefit of the electric utility, not general city projects.

“The governor’s budget in January did propose $1.5 billion for EV recharge stations,” councilman Mikey Hothi said. “I know it sounds like there is a hefty price tag here, but if there are state revenues and grants to fund some of these projects, I think we should take a look at some of that.”