Amtek given FPUD contract to install EV charging equipment

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Fallbrook Public Utility District has awarded Amtek Construction the FPUD contract to install the first phase of electric vehicle charging equipment at the FPUD main office building.

A 5-0 FPUD board vote Feb. 26 approved a $287,110 contract with Amtek, whose office is in Orange. San Diego Gas & Electric has a Power Your Drive for Fleets program which reimburses 80% of the cost to install fleet charging infrastructure for conversion to lower-emission vehicles, and FPUD will use the SDG&E grant for that portion of the expense.

The grant will allow FPUD to install three high-speed Level 3 chargers and six Level 2 charging stations. A Level 3 charging station can provide 50 to 400 kilowatts of power and can charge an electric vehicle to 80% of power in 60 minutes.

A California Air Resources Board regulation would require that by 2024 half of all fleet purchases for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of at least 8,500 pounds will need to be zero emission vehicles and by 2027 all such purchases will need to be zero emission vehicles.

Zero emission includes both electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. FPUD has purchased two electric trucks and plans to test those electric vehicles to ensure they meet the district’s needs before purchasing additional zero-emission vehicles.

The December 2022 FPUD board meeting included approval of a vehicle fleet replacement plan, and that motion also authorized district staff to pursue the Power Your Drive for Fleets grant.

FPUD staff has evaluated installing chargers at the district’s wastewater treatment plant on Alturas Road, the Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project groundwater treatment plant on the Alturas Road property, and the FPUD administration building on East Mission Road.

Although the SDG&E grant only covers the main office location, FPUD’s long-term plan is to have charging infrastructure at all three facilities.

In December 2023, FPUD’s board approved acceptance of the grant and the grant agreement. The agreement requires FPUD to maintain the electric vehicle supply equipment in good working order for 10 years and provide usage data for a period of five years.

FPUD typically moves less reliable vehicles into lighter service such as engineering before removing them from the fleet entirely, so FPUD staff members expect the electric vehicles to be part of FPUD’s fleet for more than 10 years.

FPUD staff advertised the installation of the charging equipment for bid Jan. 11. A mandatory site walk took place Jan. 23. Bids were due Feb. 8. Four companies submitted bids. The Amtek bid of $287,110 was the lowest.