No EV chargers at Federal Establishments.

If you work for Federal government and were looking into getting an EVSE installed at work, looks like you will not be successful. My request was just denied citing this document.

http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/320116.htm

Where do I go from here? Looks like nowhere !!

pksd1 said:

If you work for Federal government and were looking into getting an EVSE installed at work, looks like you will not be successful. My request was just denied citing this document.

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That seems to only talk about Capitol grounds ...

Send the document to Obama to ask if it fits in with his quest of getting electric vehicles on the road.
Of course there are appropriations for EV charging... apparently govenment offices are not part of the locations desinated.

Seriously, send this document and your experience (or better call) to the MI senators who are introducing EV bills. They may include needed funding for the federal establishments.

Has anyone heard about any charger plans for federal and state parks?

These are of course managed to accommodate public visits.

I would think it could be an easy sell for parks like Yosemite, that have air quality problems.

I sent the Email below last December, but received no reply. Been meaning to follow up on it.


"Hello,

I am a frequent visitor to Lassen Volcanic National Park. I am also planning to purchase an electric vehicle within the next few months.

I would like to use my EV on future Park visits. But, as you may be aware, the roadside charging infrastructure is currently limited, particularly in the North state.

Does LVNP have any plans to accommodate visitors driving EV's, such as the Nissan LEAF and Ford Focus, and other "plug in vehicles", such as the Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius, by providing facilities for drivers to charge their cars, during their visits to the Park? Due to the limited range of most currently available EV's, this will be a crucial question for all drivers along the I-5 corridor, who wish to visit Lassen Park.

In my own case, I live about 50 miles from the park entrance, and am planning to buy a Nissan LEAF this Spring. Just being able to plug into a standard 120 volt outlet for a few hours during my visit, could allow me to leave my "gas guzzler" at home-and make my trips to (and through) the Park, emission-free.

Please feel free to call me at xxxxxxxxxx or reply by email, if you feel I can help provide details of future visitors' needs.

Thank you,"

It doesn't surprise me since the US Capitol still uses coal fired furnaces, something the coal lobby and Mitch McConnell refuse to let go of.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Power_Plant

evnow said:

That seems to only talk about Capitol grounds ...

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I am no lawyer, but although this was a specific request for AOC to install chargers for private vehicles on the Capitol grounds, the document has further reaching implications. If I am reading it correctly, it's basically saying that unless a federal government agency has specific appropriations to install chargers, it can not do so.

As governmental responses go, this is one of the more reasonable ones. You could read this as "the people have not said the government can use the people's money for this, so until they (the people) do we (the government) can not."

Honestly, it looks like the next place to go is your Congressman. If you're being told that your agency does not have the funds to do this, the document is saying that legislation needs to be made to allow it. Either that, our scour around and see if any other federal agencies have found a different way around this.

Is the link pointing to the right doc? A cursory glance leads me to think this document is about the restriction against using AOC appropriated funds for charging stations for personal/employee vehicles without statutory authority at the Capitol.

If you work at another federal site, like a VA site, different rules may apply. Maybe you should contact your local EV Project administrator to see if it is feasible to install Blink commercial Level 2 chargers.

edatoakrun said:

Has anyone heard about any charger plans for federal and state parks?

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I've had excellent discussions with local park supervisors and park rangers here in the Portland, Oregon area. The local county park supervisor welcomed me to bring my LEAF to local parks and to plug in. The state parks are managed by individual park rangers that can use discretion to allow/disallow "free" charging, however any park that has RV electrical hookups available will allow you to pay the overnight fee and plug in whatever you want.

One thing I might consider is trying to organize a program where the local Oregon Electric Vehicle Association applies for grants to install actual J1772 EVSEs in state parks for free use... Might be a good idea for local EAA chapters! (or at least ones that are 501(c)3 non-profits)

We were trying to get a couple of L2 charging station installed at the U.S. Coast Guard facility in San Pedro, CA and were turned down citing a similar source.

pksd1 said:

If you work for Federal government and were looking into getting an EVSE installed at work, looks like you will not be successful. My request was just denied citing this document.

http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/320116.htm

Where do I go from here? Looks like nowhere !!

Click to expand...

In addition to not being able to install L2 chargers(which we do have funds for), I was specifically told not to plug-in my car into a standard wall outlet either. So no L1 charging at work either, which in most cases would have been sufficient for me.

Looks like I will be writing a letter to my congressman to see if anything can be done.

Fraud/Waste/Abuse is a factor for federal outlets as well, as the electric bill is paid for by the government thru funds specifically appropriated for the required task. Not saying anyone would, but plugging-in 'down town' might get one yelled at while connecting to a government owned plug makes it a federal offense...not a good career move.

At a military base/post, maybe check with a club, rec center, exchange, or other non-appropriated funds organization and see if they'll allow a Chargepoint unit - they may be ok providing power, or may have to charge a nominal fee to 'net zero' the cost to the agency. One could also sell it to the organization as a small fundraiser - make it a pay parking spot if they can't charge for electricity.

I'm having similar problems getting permission to plug in at my FAA facility. My facility happens to be the largest and busiest TRACON in the world, and as such, I am planning to write a letter to the head of the FAA, head of the DOT and President Obama asking for direction on this.

I plan on citing relevant passages from President Obama's state of the union address, point to Executive Order 13150 (http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/eos/eo13150.html, as well as suggest that the FAA's 'crown jewel' TRACON ought to be a showplace for forward thinking hardware, software, and should empower employees (about 400 of us there) to use EV's to reduce air pollution. We have no less than 17 light poles in our parking lot that can easily be adapted to add a simple 110v outlet at the base and provide plug-in space for dozens of vehicles.

I'm surprised that it's proving so difficult to get approval. Perhaps a lot of us should write to our congresspeople and the president telling him to make Federal workplaces (and state parks) a 'guiding light' for the general public.

Jimmydreams said:

I plan on citing relevant ... point to Executive Order 13150 ...

Perhaps a lot of us should write to our congresspeople and the president telling him to make Federal workplaces (and state parks) a 'guiding light' for the general public.

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WTG, JimmyD !!!

And ... great suggestion ! :idea:

I also suggest sending this to pluginamerica.org and asking for guidance/help.

pksd1 said:

In addition to not being able to install L2 chargers(which we do have funds for), I was specifically told not to plug-in my car into a standard wall outlet either. So no L1 charging at work either, which in most cases would have been sufficient for me.

Looks like I will be writing a letter to my congressman to see if anything can be done.

Click to expand...

Wow, are employees forbidden from plugging in their Blackberries, iPhones, and anything else into their computers that might charge a battery too?

pksd1 said:

Looks like I will be writing a letter to my congressman to see if anything can be done.

Click to expand...

How receptive your representative may be to promoting electric vehicles depends on your district. Here in San Diego you can start to get an idea by looking at votes on the law that established the plug-in rebate program.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2007-40
"Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007" signed by President Bush

Nay CA-49 Issa, Darrell [R]
Nay CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
Yea CA-51 Filner, Bob [D]
Nay CA-52 Hunter, Duncan [R]
Yea CA-53 Davis, Susan [D]

http://solarhbj.com/news/california-air-board-auto-industry-group-at-odds-on-vehicle-standards-01352
An ICE car industry group was criticized for lobbying congressmen, including Darrell Issa, to intervene against California's fuel economy standards. There is no indication that Issa was receptive to the request, and Issa favors clean energy: http://issa.house.gov/index.php?opt...=207:global-climate-change&catid=40&Itemid=67

http://bilbray.house.gov/2009/10/us...ts-bilbray-electric-vehicle-legislation.shtml
Brian Bilbray introduced a bill to make Aptera eligible for Federal EV funds

http://www.cagw.org/newsroom/releases/2010/energy.html
Bob Filner introduced a provision to design and install community vehicle charging stations for electric cars in Chula Vista.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Duncan_Hunter#Energy
I couldn't find any primary sources on Duncan Hunter's positions regarding electric vehicles. He seems to be quite a skeptic on environmental issues, but quite in favor of energy independence.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=H.R.4399&congress=111#sponsors
Susan Davis introduced the "American Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Act"

Jimmydreams said:

We have no less than 17 light poles in our parking lot that can easily be adapted to add a simple 110v outlet at the base and provide plug-in space for dozens of vehicles.

Click to expand...

I thought I remembered someone saying that large parking lots typically used three-phase power. Wouldn't that have a major impact on your "easily" statement?

Don't know - just asking.