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ALL RIGHT.THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US THIS MORNING.
WE'RE HERE TO DISCUSS WITH YOU ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPPORTING PROGRAMS IN OUR VERY OWN HOUSTON.
OUR PANELISTS TODAY ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF HELPING TO ELECTRIFY OUR CITY, AND WITH US, WE HAVE DIRECTOR GARY GLASSCOCK, UM, FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, MR. DAVID OWEN, TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRIFICATION MANAGER WITH CENTER POINT ENERGY.
STEVE SCHER, VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WITH HERTZ, AND MR. HARRY TENENBAUM, DIRECTOR OF COMMERCIALIZATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE WITH EVOL HOUSTON.
I'M FELIPE BALLERO, DIRECTOR OF MOBILITY AND ENERGY RESEARCH WITH S AND P GLOBAL HERE IN HOUSTON.
SO WE'RE HERE TODAY, JUST A FEW DAYS AHEAD OF EARTH DAY BECAUSE OUR C BECAUSE OF OUR CITY'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, UM, IT LAYS OUT A STRATEGY TO REDUCE REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, IMPROVE REGIONAL AIR QUALITY, AS WELL AS BUILD CLIMATE RESILIENCE, WHICH YOU HEARD SOME OF THAT ABOUT, ABOUT THAT EARLIER TODAY, BECAUSE TRANSPORTATION ACCOUNTS FOR APPROXIMATELY 47% OF OUR REGION'S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, ELIMINATING VEHICLE TAILPIPE EMISSIONS WOULD GO A VERY LONG WAY IN HELPING US TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS OF BEING A NET CARBON ZERO EMISSION CITY.
BY THE YEAR 2050, OUR MAYOR HAS LAID OUT THIS VERY AMBITIOUS GOAL, RECOGNIZING THAT HOUSTON IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED FOR SUCCESS, GIVEN OUR STATUS AS THE ENERGY CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, WHERE WE HAVE GREAT HISTORY WITH, UH, PREVIOUS PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, UM, THAT HAVE OFTEN THRIVED.
AND SPEAKING OF THESE PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS, WHY DON'T WE BEGIN WITH YOU, STEVE, UM, HERDZ LAST MONTH ANNOUNCED, UM, WHAT WE'RE CALLING OR WHAT YOU'RE CALLING RATHER, HERTZ, ELECTRIFIES HOUSTON.
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM? SURE.
I WOULD LOVE TO THANK YOU, AND GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.
UM, FIRST I WANNA CONGRATULATE MAYOR TURNER ON HIS COMMITMENT TO ELECTRIFICATION AND DECARBONIZATION OF TRANSPORTATION, AS WELL AS THE CITY, AND THIS, AND ALL THE ORGANIZERS OF THIS EVENT.
UM, BEFORE I TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY, JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON HERTZ AND OUR ELECTRIFICATION PLANS AND STRATEGY.
UH, NOT TOO LONG AGO, WE MADE THE DECISION TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF ELECTRIFYING OUR FLEET THAT STARTED WITH LARGE SCALE VEHICLE ACQUISITIONS, UH, A HUNDRED THOUSAND TESLAS, 65,000 POLE STARS.
AND JUST RECENTLY, WE ANNOUNCED A DEAL WITH GM TO ACQUIRE 175,000 ELECTRIC VEHICLES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND SO THE PROCESS OF BRINGING ELECTRIC VEHICLES INTO OUR FLEET IS WELL UNDERWAY.
OUR GOAL IS 25% OF OUR FLEET TO BE ELECTRIC BY THE END OF 2024, AND WE'RE WELL ON OUR WAY TO DOING THAT.
AS PART OF THAT PROCESS, WE ALSO NEED TO BRING IN CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, AND SO WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH AIRPORTS AND CITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CHARGE OUR VEHICLES FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS SERVE THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
UM, BEFORE I GET INTO THE, THE HERTZ ELECTRIFY PARTNERSHIP, THE THREE CATEGORIES OF OUR EV CUSTOMERS REALLY ARE LEISURE TRAVELERS.
SO IF YOU'RE FLYING IN, YOU MAY WANT TO TRY AN EV FOR THE FIRST TIME.
IT'S A GREAT WAY TO INTRODUCE EVS TO THOSE WHO HAVEN'T TRIED IT BEFORE.
OR IF YOU ARE ALREADY AN EV EVANGELIST, THEN YOU WANT TO JUST DRIVE ONE WHEN YOU TRAVEL, UH, WE MAKE THOSE AVAILABLE FOR YOU.
OUR CORPORATE CUSTOMERS ARE CHOOSING EVS BECAUSE EVERY CORPORATION IS ADDRESSING THEIR OWN CARBON FOOTPRINT.
SO THEY'RE INSTRUCTING THEIR EMPLOYEES IN MANY CASES TO CHOOSE AN EV WHILE THEY'RE ON THE ROAD.
AND PERHAPS THE LARGEST SEGMENT OF OUR EV USERS TO DATE IS OUR RIDE SHARE PARTNERSHIPS.
WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH UBER AND LYFT THAT ALLOWS RIDE SHARE DRIVERS TO RENT EVS FOR THEIR BUSINESS.
UM, AND THIS IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT IN TERMS OF TAKING, UH, INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE ICE MILES OFF THE ROAD AND REPLACING THEM WITH EV MILES BECAUSE RIDESHARE DRIVERS DRIVE ON AVERAGE BETWEEN A HUNDRED AND 150 MILES PER DAY.
AND SO ONE OF OUR GOALS IS TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPORT THE RIDESHARE COMMUNITY, AND THAT INCLUDES BRINGING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE CLOSER TO WHERE THEY LIVE AND DWELL.
SO JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, OUR, WE ANNOUNCED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON CALLED HERTZ ELECTRIFIES HOUSTON.
THIS IS A BROAD BASED PARTNERSHIP THAT INCLUDES REALLY SIX PILLARS.
ONE IS BRINGING MORE EVS TO THE
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MARKET.UH, IF WE'RE GONNA COMMIT TO ELECTRIFYING TRANSPORTATION HERE IN HOUSTON, WE NEED TO HAVE MORE EVS AVAILABLE, AND WE'RE DOING THAT.
THE SECOND PIECE IS SUPPORTING THE CITY WITH CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, AND THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE'RE ACCOMPLISHING THAT OBJECTIVE.
UH, THERE IS A PHILANTHROPIC COMPONENT TO THIS INITIATIVE WHERE WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY TO IDENTIFY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE IN NEED OF ELECTRIC MOBILITY SOLUTIONS, UH, WHERE WE CAN STEP IN AND PROVIDE THOSE SOLUTIONS FOR THAT, UH, ORGANIZATION.
AND THEN, THIS IS VERY SIGNIFICANT.
WE HAVE A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND JOB TRAINING COMPONENT TO THIS PARTNERSHIP.
UM, WE HAVE DONATED AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO LONE STAR COLLEGE AND THEIR AUTOMOTIVE PROGRAM TO ALLOW FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN HOW TO SERVICE AND MAINTAIN AN EV IT'S A CRITICAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE FOR THE FUTURE OF HERTZ AND OUR ABILITY TO, TO HIRE A QUALIFIED WORKFORCE.
AND IT'S ALSO A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE STUDENTS OF HOUSTON IN AUTOMOTIVE PROGRAMS TO LEARN HOW TO SERVICE AND MAINTAIN EVS.
MY ROLE AT THE COMPANY IS GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
AND SO, UH, THE FIFTH COMPONENT TO THIS PARTNERSHIP IS WORKING WITH CITIES ON FEDERAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS PUSHED OUT A LOT OF MONEY FOR ELECTRIFICATION, AND CITIES ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF THOSE FUNDS, AND WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON ON THAT.
AND THEN LASTLY, FROM A FLEET, UH, CONVERSION COMPONENT, HERTZ HAS A FLEET RENTAL PROGRAM FOR MUNICIPALITIES TO RENT EVS FOR THEIR MUNICIPAL FLEET, WHETHER IT'S ON A SHORT TERM BASIS OR AN IMMEDIATE BASIS, WITHOUT A LARGE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, YOU CAN CITY CAN RENT THEM ON A WEEKLY BASIS AS NEEDED.
I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING MORE INTO THE PROGRAM, BUT HAPPY TO BE HERE AND, AND REALLY PROUD OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY AND LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING MORE.
DIRECTOR GLASSCOCK, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS SOME VERY AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR THE ELECTRIFICATION OF ITS FLEET.
CAN YOU SHARE WHAT THE AUDIENCE, WHAT THOSE PLANS ARE? ABSOLUTELY.
SO UNDER THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, THE CITY HAS SET A TARGET OF CONVERTING, UH, ALL NON-EMERGENCY VEHICLES TO EV BY 2030.
AND SO THAT, THAT'S, UH, ALMOST 4,000 VEHICLES.
AND, UH, SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY ON, UH, ON PURSUING THAT TARGET AS WELL AS GETTING THE REQUIRED INFRASTRUCTURE IN.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES, PARTICULARLY WITH THE, UH, SUPPLY CHAIN.
UM, WE'VE GOT, UH, UH, CURRENTLY OPERATING 57 EVS WITH 57 CHARGERS.
WE HAVE ANOTHER 89 EVS ON ORDER, BUT THESE, UH, THESE, UH, EVS THAT ARE ON ORDER WERE ORDERED TWO YEARS AGO.
AND SO WE'VE SEEN, UH, CASES WHERE OUR, UH, ORDERS ARE BEING CANCELED, POSTPONED, PUSHED OUT, UH, UH, FURTHER IN SCHEDULING AND, UH, AND OF COURSE THAT THAT'S IMPACTING OUR PLAN.
UH, BUT WE HAVEN'T LOST FAITH.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT EMERGENCY VEHICLES AS WELL, UH, BECAUSE ON A, FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, THE CONVERSION OF ONE EMERGENCY VEHICLE CAN BE EQUAL IN BENEFITS TO THE CONVERSION OF EIGHT NON-EMERGENCY VEHICLES.
AND THAT'S REALLY BASED ON MILES.
SO OUR AVERAGE ADMIN CAR WILL OPERATE ANYWHERE FROM MAYBE, UH, OH THREE TO 6,000 MILES A YEAR.
WHEREAS A, A POLICE CAR, UH, AMBULANCE, THEY'LL, THEY'LL DO 48 AS, AS AS MANY AS 70,000 MILES A YEAR.
SO THE BENEFITS REALLY COME WITH THE SAVINGS AND FUEL AND THE REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS.
SO THE MORE MILES THE VEHICLE TRAVELS, THE MORE WE SAVE.
SO, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, PUSH A MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO ENSURE THAT, UH, THE, UH, CITY COMES IN ON TARGET IN 2030.
BUT BELIEVE ME, THERE'S, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES.
ARE YOU LEVERAGING THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT HERTZ OFFERS THE CITY IN PERHAPS BRIDGING, UM, THE GAP INTO DELAYS THAT YOU'RE SEEING WHEN YOU'RE ACTUALLY PURCHASING THE VEHICLES AND WHEN YOU'RE HAVING 'EM DELIVERED? SO HAVING THEM RUN A BUSINESS? NO, THE, THE, THE BIG CONSTRAINT RIGHT NOW IS CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? SO, UH, IN, IN ORDER TO OPERATE EVS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE CHARGERS AVAILABLE.
AND SO THAT, THAT IN ITSELF IS, IS CHALLENGING.
AND SO, SO JUST THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT CURRENTLY THE CITY CONSUMES 10 MILLION GALLONS OF GASOLINE A YEAR, RIGHT? SO JUST A DIRECT CONVERSION, DIRECT CONVERSION THAT'S 333 GIGAWATTS OF ELECTRICITY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
NOW, EVS ARE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT COMPARED TO, TO, UH, INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.
SO THAT VALUE GOES DOWN TO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE APPROXIMATING SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 130, UH, GIGAWATTS THAT WILL BE NEEDED TO, UH, CONVERT ALL OF OUR GASOLINE VEHICLES TO, UH, TO EV.
AND SO REALLY THE PUSH RIGHT NOW, UH, THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IS, IS GETTING INFRASTRUCTURE IN.
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A NUMBER OF SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES WITH, UH, WITH, UH, GETTING THE PANELS, THE TRANSFORMERS THAT WE NEED TO, UH, TO PUT CHARGERS IN.UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, UH, WE'RE DEALING WITH IS MO MOST OF THESE CITY FACILITIES ARE SOMEWHAT AGED, AND WHEN THEY WERE BUILT, THE AMOUNT OF ELECTRONICS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THESE BUILDINGS WEREN'T CONSIDERED.
SO IN MOST CASES, WE'RE HAVING TO ADD TRANSFORMERS AND NEW ELECTRICAL PANELS.
WE JUST CAN'T MAKE THE CURRENT FACILITIES OF THE OLDER ONES WORK WITH THE, WITH THE CHARGER INSTALLATIONS THAT WE NEED.
AND SO FOR THOSE PARTICULAR CASES, UH, DRAWN OUT INSTALLATION TIMES, AND OF COURSE MORE ENGINEERING DESIGN, THAT SORT OF THING, DELAYS GET COMPOUNDED BY THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES.
OUTTA CURIOSITY, DOES ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE DRIVE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE? THAT'S A LOT.
AND DO MANY OF YOU CHARGE PUBLICLY OR ARE YOU MOSTLY CHARGING YOUR VEHICLES AT HOME? EXCEPT THAT, SAY THAT RAISE YOUR LEFT HAND IF YOU'RE DRI IF YOU'RE MOSTLY CHARGED AT HOME AND YOUR RIGHT HAND, IF YOU MOSTLY CHARGE IT PUBLICLY.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE MOSTLY, SO IT'S MOSTLY FOLKS ARE CHARGING AT HOME, AND I THINK THAT'S IN LINE WITH THE NATIONAL STATISTIC OF ABOUT 80% OF PEOPLE THAT OWN ELECTRIC VEHICLES ACTUALLY CHARGED THEIR VEHICLES AT HOME.
WHICH BRINGS US TO THE NEXT POINT IN OUR DISCUSSION, AS YOU INTRODUCED THAT PUBLIC CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE REMAINS A BOTTLENECK IN THE ADOPTION AND IN THE CONVERSION OF, UM, OUR VEHICLE FLEET.
UH, DAVID, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US WHAT CENTERPOINT AS THE UTILITY IS DOING TO HELP LIFT THIS BARRIER? SURE.
LET ME START BY SAYING THAT WE'RE ELECTRIFYING OUR OWN FLEET SOMEWHERE TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF LAYING OUT CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ELECTRIFYING OUR FLEET, WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT SAME PROCESS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE.
SO IT'S GIVEN US A LOT BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE, THE HICCUPS THAT THEY MAY GET.
UM, BUT, SO IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH OUR CUSTOMERS TO, TO HELP EASE THEIR, THEIR, UH, WAY INTO CHARGING.
UM, SO HAVING GONE THROUGH THAT, THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT, UH, WE DID A STUDY HERE IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO THAT LOOKED AT OUT TO 2032.
WHAT, UH, WHAT COULD THE POTENTIAL IMPACT BE TO OUR SYSTEM? AND WE LOOKED AT, I BELIEVE IT WAS 750,000 EVS WILL BE ON THE ROAD.
UH, IT WOULD BE 1.2 GIGAWATTS OF LOAD, ADDITIONAL LOAD, UH, FROM THOSE.
AND THEN, UM, TRANSLATING THAT INTO WHERE ARE THOSE HOTSPOTS? SO WE, WE KNOW THAT THE, THE AIRPORT WITH THE, THE FLEET CHARGING FOR HERTZ, THAT'S GONNA BE A HOTSPOT.
AND THERE'S ALSO, UH, RIDE SHARE.
THERE'LL BE PUBLIC CHARGING IN THOSE AREAS.
AND THEN ALSO IN THE AIRPORT AREAS, THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF DISTRIBUTION CENTERS.
SO AS WE START SEEING A MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY FLEETS ELECTRIFY, WHICH WE HAVEN'T SEEN A WHOLE LOT YET, THERE'S JUST NOW STARTING TO BE SOME, SOME MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS ROLLING IN CALIFORNIA, BUT WE ARE SEEING THE FIRST TESLA SEMIS ROLL HERE IN, IN THE TEXAS MARKET.
UM, THOSE WILL CREATE EVEN MORE LOAD POCKETS.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING THERE IS WORKING WITH THE OEMS, THE LARGE, YOU KNOW, FREIGHT LINER AND VOLVO, TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON WHERE ARE THE DIESEL TRUCKS TODAY? AND TRANSLATING THOSE DIESEL TRUCKS INTO SCENARIOS OF IF 1% OF THESE ELECTRIFY, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT IF WE GET THE 20% ADOPTION? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? AND WHERE IN OUR SYSTEM, UH, DOES THAT TRANSLATE? AND THEN TAKING THAT DATA AND GETTING WITH OUR PLANNING GROUPS AND FIGURING OUT HOW DO WE BUILD OUT OUR SYSTEM? BECAUSE IF, IF, UH, GARY GETS, YOU KNOW, A HANDFUL OF VEHICLES AND HE'S WAITING ON US TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE THE LOAD FOR YOUR AREA COME BACK TO US IN THREE YEARS, THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
UM, I WAS RECENTLY AT A CONFERENCE THAT ONE OF THOSE LARGE OEMS SHOWED A PICTURE OF A CLASS EIGHT SEMI-TRUCK PARKED UP AGAINST THE FENCE AT ONE OF THE FACILITIES, AND THEY SAID, THE REASON WHY THAT TRUCK IS PARKED THERE AGAINST THE FENCE IS BECAUSE THE UTILITY HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET POWER TO THEM YET.
SO WE ARE NOT GONNA BE THAT UTILITY HERE IN HOUSTON.
WE ARE PUTTING THINGS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH CUSTOMERS, WITH THE OEMS, AND THEN EVENTUALLY WITH OUR REGULATORS TO MAKE SURE WE CAN BUILD OUT OUR GRID IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY.
AND HARRY, UM, AS I UNDERSTAND EVOLV HELPS TO BRING TOGETHER OUR PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERS AND, AND HELPING THE CITY OF HOUSTON ACHIEVE ITS CLIMATE ACTION PLANS, COULD YOU SHARE WITH US HOW YOU'RE CONNECTING OUR PUBLIC AND OUR PRIVATE PARTNERS IN HELPING US GET TOWARDS THOSE GOALS? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH WHO EVOLVE HOUSTON IS, WE ARE A NONPROFIT, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, UH, THAT IS REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND IMPROVING THE REGIONS OF AIR QUALITY THROUGH THE ELECTRIFICATION TRANSPORTATION.
UH, AND A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IS WE ARE, WE'RE
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CREATING AND SUSTAINING AN ECOSYSTEM, UH, THAT ALLOWS PLAYERS FROM ALL, ALL INDUSTRIES, WHETHER THAT'S OEMS THE UTILITY, UH, UH, RENTAL PROVIDERS, FLEETS, OPERATING, UH, WITHIN THE REGION, UM, CHARGING PROVIDERS, DATA FIGHTERS, RIGHT? IT, IT'S, IT'S CREATING THIS ECOSYSTEM WHERE EVERYONE CAN COLLABORATE AND, AND WORK TOGETHER, UM, REALLY TO, TO GROW THE PIE AND, AND INCREASE THE NUMBER OF EVS ON THE ROAD, INCREASE ACCESS TO CHARGING AND, AND INCREASE AND, AND IMPROVE DIFFERENT E MOBILITY INITIATIVES.UM, I, I WAS ACTUALLY CRUNCHING SOME NUMBERS LAST NIGHT, AND WHEN WE STARTED, UH, BACK IN 2019, ABOUT 2% OF NEW VEHICLES SOLD IN HOUSTON WERE EVS.
AND I LOOKED AT THAT NUMBER IN JANUARY AND IT WAS 10%.
SO JUST IN A FEW YEARS, WE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, AND NOT JUST WE, BUT AS, AS EVOLVED, BUT EVERYONE THAT PLAYS A ROLE IN THIS ECOSYSTEM, UH, HA, HAS BEEN ABLE TO, UH, TO GROW THAT NUMBER, RIGHT? AND THERE ARE DEFINITELY DIRECT IMPACTS, UM, PEOPLE THAT DRIVE EVS LOVE TO TALK ABOUT HOW QUIET THEY ARE, HOW CLEAN THEY ARE, UM, HOW MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THEY ARE TO OPERATE.
YOU'RE NOT PAYING FOR GASOLINE, RIGHT? YOU'RE, YOU'RE PAYING FOR ELECTRICITY, UH, NO OIL CHANGES, RIGHT? A LOT LESS, UH, FILTER, FILTER CHANGES, NO BROKEN BELTS, RIGHT? UM, SO THE, THE DIRECT CONSUMERS DEFINITELY ARE, ARE ENJOYING THIS, BUT I, I THINK ALL HOUSTONIANS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO BENEFIT FROM ELECTRIFICATION AS WELL.
JUST EVERY DAY, EVERY BREATH WE TAKE IS GONNA BE THAT MUCH CLEANER, UH, WITH, WITH MORE EVS ON THE ROAD.
AND FOR HOUSTONIANS THAT DON'T OWN AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE OR DON'T, BECAUSE THEY PERHAPS LIVE IN A RENTAL PROPERTY AND DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO AT HOME CHARGING.
UM, COULD YOU SHARE WITH US WHAT HERTZ HAS DONE IN TERMS OF ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE OF, UM, CHARGING? 'CAUSE I KNOW WHEN WE SPOKE EARLIER, UM, I, I DID LEARN THAT NOT ONLY IS HERTZ BUILDING OUT A LARGE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ITS OWN VEHICLES, BUT THAT IT'S ALSO GONNA BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
CAN YOU SHARE WHAT THE AUDIENCE, WHAT THAT IS ALL ABOUT? YEAH.
THAT TAKES ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT FORMATS.
SO THE FIRST IS, UM, WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH BP PULSE, UH, WHICH IS THE ELECTRIFICATION ARM OF BP AMERICA, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT BUILDING A LARGE SCALE, FAST CHARGING HUB AT HOBBY AIRPORT ON HERTZ PROPERTY.
UM, AND SO THAT WILL BE A, BASICALLY A PLACE WHERE RIDESHARE DRIVERS, TAXIS, THE GENERAL PUBLIC, OTHER FLEETS CAN GO, UH, FOR QUICK, WELL-MAINTAINED FAST CHARGING AT THE AIRPORT, RECOGNIZING THAT THE AIRPORT IS A KEY, UH, CENTER POINT OF MOBILITY FOR THE CITY.
UM, SO THAT'S THE FIRST PART OF IT.
THE SECOND COMPONENT THAT WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW IS COMMUNITY AND URBAN CHARGING.
AND THIS GETS BACK TO OUR RIDE SHARE PROGRAM.
UH, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO, TO FIND WAYS TO BRING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE CLOSER TO WHERE THOSE RIDESHARE DRIVERS LIVE AND DWELL.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY AND SHARING SOME ANONYMIZED DATA ON WHERE THOSE VEHICLES DWELL, AND WE DEFINE THAT BY MORE THAN FIVE HOURS TO ALLOW THE CITY TO NOT ONLY RECOGNIZE WHERE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE IS NEEDED, BUT WHERE IT ACTUALLY WILL BE UTILIZED.
BECAUSE THE EVS THAT ARE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES, WHETHER IT'S A LOW OR MODERATE INCOME COMMUNITY, OR A MULTI MULTIFAMILY HOUSING AREA THAT HAS NO CHARGING TODAY, WE CAN BRING THE CHARGING CLOSER TO HOME.
AND FOR THE DRIVERS, THAT CREATES ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
THERE'S AN EQUITY PART OF THIS CONVERSATION AS WELL.
IF THEY CAN CHARGE WHILE THEY'RE NOT WORKING, THEY DON'T HAVE TO STOP TO CHARGE WHILE THEY'RE WORKING, WHICH MINIMIZES THEIR EARNING OPPORTUNITY.
JUST LAST NIGHT, I TOOK AN UBER, UH, FROM THE AIRPORT TO HERE, AND I CHOSE COMFORT ELECTRIC IN THE UBER PLATFORM, RIGHT? UM, AND THE DRIVER WAS DRIVING A TESLA THAT WAS RENTED FROM HERTZ, AND I OF COURSE ASKED HIM ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE.
UM, HE CHARGES ABOUT TWICE A DAY.
HE HAS NO CHARGING ANYWHERE NEAR WHERE HE LIVES.
UM, AND SO HE IS TAKING TIME OUT OF HIS WORKING DAY TO CHARGE THE VEHICLE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S MOST RECENT CHARGING AND FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT, THE CFI GRANT THAT WAS JUST RELEASED APPLICATIONS BY THE CITIES ARE DUE AT THE END OF MAY, UH, IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO THAT, RIGHT? SO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES IT.
UH, THERE, THERE ARE CHALLENGING CITIES TO COME UP WITH A PLAN TO BRING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE TO THESE AREAS THAT ARE MOST NEEDED.
AND WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPORT THAT.
AND AS THE CITY OF HOUSTON DEVELOPS, ITS CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE DIRECTOR, GLASSCOCK, WOULD THOSE CHARGING STATIONS BE AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC? UH, SO, SO WE'VE GOT TWO DIFFERENT, UH, APPROACHES TO CHARGING.
WE'VE GOT, UH, UH, ONE APPROACH IS, IS DEDICATED CITY VEHICLE, UH, CHARGING THAT, UH, IS BEHIND, UH, FENCE LINES.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT A PUBLIC FACING, UH, CHARGING OPPORTUNITY.
UM, UH, THE GRANT PROGRAM THAT WAS JUST MENTIONED, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, UH, PURSUING FUNDING UNDER THAT PROGRAM AND GETTING, UH, CHARGER INSTALLATIONS AT CITY PARKS.
UH, THERE, THERE'S A, A, A REQUIREMENT UNDER THAT PROGRAM THAT, THAT, UH, ANY
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FUNDS MUST GO TO PUBLIC FACING, UH, CHARGING UNITS.SO WE'RE GONNA USE THIS AS, AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE FUNDS TO GET CHARGERS INTO PARKS AT, UH, UH, COMMUNITY CENTERS THAT, UH, THAT'LL BE FAIRLY WELL DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE CITY.
AND AS ALL THESE PROJECTS ARE GOING ON, DAVID, YOU'VE MENTIONED TO US THAT YOU TYPICALLY ARE IN CONTACT WITH, WITH VARIOUS PLAYERS, UM, IN ORDER TO PREPARE YOURSELVES AS A UTILITY.
WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST HURDLE SO FAR? WELL, JUST LIKE OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT LEAD TIMES FOR EQUIPMENT, HAS BEEN ONE OF 'EM.
AND ONE OF THE WAYS WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT IS HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH CUSTOMERS IN ADVANCE OF TRYING TO IDENTIFY THEIR, THEIR EQUIPMENT NEEDS BEFORE IT EVEN BECOMES A PROJECT SO THAT WE CAN START GETTING THOSE PAD MOUNT TRANSFORMERS IN THE PIPELINE.
WE'RE WORKING WITH A NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS, PUTTING IN PUBLIC CHARGING.
WE'RE, WE'RE IN THAT SAME STAGE WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO COMMIT THROUGH THE END OF THIS YEAR THAT WE WILL HAVE THE, THE EQUIPMENT THERE.
ONE, ONE NICE THING TO HAVE IN THE HOUSTON MARKET IS WE ARE GROWING ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SO, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE HAVE ISSUES WITH US ALLOCATING EQUIPMENT TO A CHARGING STATION.
THAT'S NOT A PROJECT, BUT IF THAT CHARGING PROJECT FALLS THROUGH, WE'VE GOT PROBABLY TWO OR THREE CUSTOMERS WAITING FOR THAT TRANSFORMER.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET ENOUGH OF THAT IN THE PIPELINE FOR NOT ONLY THE CHARGING, BUT ALL OF OUR COMMERCIAL GROWTH.
HARRY, AS PART OF E EVOLVE'S, UM, OUTREACH PROGRAM, HOW ARE YOU HELPING TO EDUCATE CITIZENS, UM, EITHER PRIVATE CITIZENS OR, UM, UH, INSTITUTIONAL CITIZENS AS TO HOW THEY CAN BENEFIT FROM THE VARIOUS GRANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR HELPING TO DEVELOP OR BUILD OUT THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO SERVICE ALL HOUSTONIANS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, AND, AND REALLY THE, THE BEST THING TO DO IS JUST GET OUT THERE, RIGHT? UM, YEAH, I'D LOVE TO DO EVENTS LIKE THIS WHERE, WHERE I CAN COMMUNICATE AND, AND TALK ABOUT EVOLVE, TALK ABOUT ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMS. UH, WE'LL BE PRESENT ON WEDNESDAY AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST OUT THERE WITH A ATTEND, EDUCATING, SERVING THE PUBLIC.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE AT THE HOUSTON AUTO SHOW, UH, EVERY YEAR, AND I THINK WE'RE THE TITLE SPONSOR FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
UH, AND REALLY THE IDEA IS TO, TO GET OUT THERE AND COMMUNICATE.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE SOME GREAT ONLINE RESOURCES, UH, AT OUR WEBSITE, EVOLVE HOUSTON.ORG.
WE HAVE, UM, A, A VERY UNIQUE PROGRAM, ACTUALLY, IT'S OUR GRANTS TRACKER TOOL, UH, WHICH IS AN AGGREGATE OF GRANTS AND INCENTIVES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO HOUSTONIANS, UH, THAT ARE ELECT EV RELATED, UH, RANGING FROM MAYBE JUST A, A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A CHARGER AT HOME UP TO HUN UP TO, COULD BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES.
UM, BUT REALLY THE, THE, THE IDEA IS TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT THERE.
IT'S, THERE'S SO MUCH FUNDING AVAILABLE.
UM, AND, AND JUST MAKING THAT AS EASY AND AND DIGESTIBLE AS POSSIBLE IS, IS KEY.
UH, AND JUST LETTING PEOPLE KNOW, HEY, YOU CAN, YOU CAN SAVE SOME SERIOUS MONEY, UH, BY ELECTRIFYING.
AND KIND OF ALONG THE SAME LINES, UM, AND THINK, THINKING OF ACCESSIBILITY, RIGHT? WHEN WE THINK OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES TODAY, BUYING ONE IS GENERALLY THOUGHT OF EXPENSIVE, UM, AND THERE'S NOT YET A LARGE SECONDARY MARKET FOR IT YET.
BUT YOU MENTIONED TO ME EARLIER THAT HERDZ IS PLANT.
SO FIRST, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US HOW HERDZ MANAGES ITS FLEET OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLES AND HOW IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT FOR BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES? YEAH.
ONE OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE LONG-TERM BENEFITS OF A LARGE FLEET LIKE OURS, WE'RE CURRENTLY THE LARGEST EV RENTAL FLEET IN NORTH AMERICA, MAYBE IN THE WORLD, JUST BY NATURE OF THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES, TRADITIONAL CAR RENTAL MODEL, IS THAT YOU MAINTAIN THOSE VEHICLES FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS OR UP TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MILES, AND THEN THEY GET SOLD INTO THE USED CAR MARKET.
UM, WITH OUR EVS, WE BELIEVE BECAUSE MAINTENANCE, UH, COSTS ARE LOWER, UM, AND THERE ARE FEWER MECHANICAL PARTS IN AN EV VERSUS A INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO KEEP THOSE VEHICLES A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT EVENTUALLY, JUST BY PURE NUMBERS, THOSE VEHICLES ARE GONNA END UP IN THE USED CAR MARKET.
AND SO I THINK WE'RE GONNA QUITE LITERALLY SEE, UM, AN EXPANSION OF THE USED CAR MARKET, OR AT LEAST EVS AVAILABLE IN THE USED CAR MARKET, MAKING THEM MORE AFFORDABLE AND MORE ACCESSIBLE.
I'LL ALSO ADD THAT THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT FROM LAST SEPTEMBER INCLUDED A TAX CREDIT FOR USED EVS.
SO THAT'S GONNA MAKE THEM EVEN MORE, MORE ACCESSIBLE AND MORE AFFORDABLE FOR THOSE, UM, WHO TODAY CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY A NEW EV.
SO, AS HARRY SHARED WITH US, ABOUT 10% OF NEW VEHICLE SALES IN HOUSTON ARE OF ELECTRIFIED VEHICLES.
IF EVERYONE RUNS OUT AND BUYS AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE.
UH, DAVID, IS THAT A PROBLEM? WELL, AS LONG AS WE KNOW ABOUT IT.
SO HOW DO YOU PLAN FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? ARE YOU, SO, SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT PHASES.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MASS ADOPTION, SO RESIDENTIAL CHARGING, YOU KNOW, 80% OF THE CHARGING HAPPENS AT
[00:25:01]
HOME.BUT TO REALLY GET INTO EVERYBODY OWNING ELECTRIC VEHICLE A THIRD, AT LEAST OF OUR, UH, CUSTOMERS ARE MULTIFAMILY.
SO HOW DO WE SOLVE THAT CHARGING? UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME APARTMENT COMPLEXES PUTTING IN CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CUSTOMERS TO PULL AGAIN, OVERNIGHT.
BUT THE, YOU'RE ALSO GONNA SEE PUBLIC FAST CHARGING POP UP AROUND THESE MULTIFAMILY AREAS.
MUCH, MUCH AS, YOU KNOW, HERTZ WILL RELY ON THOSE FOR THE RIDE SHARE.
UM, BUT THE MARKET WILL GROW WITH THAT.
AND THAT'S PART OF OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR PLANNING GROUP OF HOW DO WE, UH, DO SCENARIOS, UH, TO, TO LOOK AT WAYS THAT WE CAN PLAN FOR THE, UH, THE ONSLAUGHT.
DOES THE CITY OF HOUSTON USE A SCENARIOS APPROACH AS WELL? DIRECTOR GLASSCOCK, WHEN THINKING ABOUT HOW IT'S ELECTRIFYING ITS VEHICLE FLEET? WELL, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF THINGS, AND, AND ONE OF THE KEY CONCERNS FOR US IS, OF COURSE, RESILIENCE.
YOU KNOW, WE SAW A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO DURING THE WINTER STORM THAT WE HAD A, A NUMBER OF BOTH POLICE STATIONS AND FIRE STATIONS THAT WENT WITHOUT POWER FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
AND, UH, AND WE WERE FORCED TO, TO TRANSPORT FUEL TO ALL THESE LOCATIONS TO KEEP BACKUP GENERATORS GOING SO THAT WE COULD SUSTAIN THOSE EMERGENCY SERVICES.
AND SO NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING LOTS OF VEHICLES AT THESE LOCATIONS, AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT LONG TERM? HOW DOES THAT IMPACT OUR PROVISION OF CITY SERVICES? SO WE, WE'VE BEEN TOSSING AROUND QUITE A BIT.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE KEEP COMING BACK TO ARE MORE TAKE HOME VEHICLES.
SO INSTEAD OF LEAVING THE VEHICLE A THOUSAND OF THEM AT, AT A CITY FACILITY OVERNIGHT, WE ALLOW EMPLOYEES TO DRIVE THOSE HOME, PROVIDE THEM WITH A CHARGER AT THEIR HOME.
SO WHAT THAT DOES IS GIVE US MORE OF A DISTRIBUTED GRID SO THAT WE'RE NOT RELIANT ON ONE PARTICULAR LOCATION, BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS THAT EMPLOYEE TO CHARGE THEIR PERSONAL CAR WITH THAT SAME CHARGER AND THEN TRAVEL TO AND FORTH WORK IN, IN AN EV REDUCING A EMISSION.
SO, SO WE HAVE TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX.
THE, THE TRADITIONAL GASOLINE MODEL IS DRIVE THE CAR FOR EIGHT HOURS, COME BACK, FUEL IT FOR 15, AND IF THERE'S A NIGHT SHIFT, TURN THAT CAR OVER AND SOMEBODY ELSE GOES OUT IN THE SAME CAR.
WE CAN'T THINK THAT WAY ANYMORE WITH THE, WITH THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHANGES IN HOW WE OPERATE TO, TO ACCOMMODATE THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION.
THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING MODEL.
UM, WOULD THAT RESULT IN AN INCREASED NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT THE CITY WOULD HAVE TO OWN AND MAINTAIN, OR WOULD IT STILL BE THE SAME AND THEY'D KIND OF JUST FLOAT AROUND ON A SIGNUP BASIS? WELL, THE, THE, THE ONLY AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHERE WE WOULD HAVE TO INCREASE WOULD BE THE VEHICLES THAT OPERATE AROUND THE CLOCK, RIGHT? SO, SO SAY A POLICE CAR THAT'S OPERATING, SOME OF 'EM OPERATE 24 HOURS, RIGHT? THE, THE NEXT SHIFT COMES IN, THEY GO RIGHT BACK OUT.
SO WE CAN'T DO THAT, RIGHT, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA NEED AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS OF CHARGE TIME FOR A DAY'S RUN.
AND SO IN THOSE PARTICULAR CASES, WE WOULD HAVE TO INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE FLEET, BUT FOR MOST OF THE FLEET VEHICLES, THEY'RE OPERATED, UH, DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS.
AND SO THAT, THAT ALLOWS THEM TO BE CHARGED OVERNIGHT.
AND, UH, AND I'M GONNA SAY, UH, AND JUST GOING OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, WE PROBABLY HAVE, UH, ROUGHLY 4,000 VEHICLES THAT, THAT ARE 24 HOUR OPERATION.
THE REST, UH, ARE, ARE TYPICALLY EIGHT TO FIVE AND, UH, AND SOMETIMES ON WEEKENDS.
YOU HAD AN EXPERIENCE THAT I THOUGHT WAS ALSO INTERESTING, DAVID, WHERE YOU OWN AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE.
AND AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO RENT ONE YEP.
UM, FROM HERS, WHAT WAS YOUR CHARGING EXPERIENCE LIKE RELATIVE TO THE VEHICLE THAT YOU OWN? YEAH, SO I, I OWN A TESLA MODEL Y WHILE I WAS THERE, I RENTED A MODEL THREE BECAUSE IT'S SMALLER AND WANTED TO TRY THAT OUT.
BUT, UM, THE ONE THING I WILL SAY IN, IN THINKING THROUGH THE WHOLE ECOSYSTEM HERE, FROM AN EDUCATION STANDPOINT, WE ALL HAVE A ROLE IN EDUCATING CUSTOMER CUSTOMERS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE COMFORTABLE RENTING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE FROM HERTZ OR, OR OTHER COMPETITORS.
SO A LOT OF WHAT I DID WAS, I WANT TO GO THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE GONNA DO AS AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER.
I CAN, I, I KNOW HOW TO PLAN FOR THAT, BUT IT ALSO INFORMS ME OF HOW WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT EDUCATION.
UM, SO I DID THE RESEARCH BEFOREHAND.
I KNEW WHERE I WAS GONNA GO DURING THE TRIP.
I, I KNEW AT ONE OF THE HOTELS THAT WE WERE STAYING THAT HAD A, UH, A CHARGING STA A LEVEL TWO CHARGING STATION, I WOULDN'T HAVE TO USE A DC FAST CHARGER IN CALIFORNIA.
UM, WHICH I THINK THEY WERE CHARGING 50 CENTS A KILOWATT HOUR IN, IN CALIFORNIA'S MARKET, I THINK IS MUCH LOWER HERE IN THE TEXAS MARKET.
UM, BUT IT WAS JUST THAT RESEARCH.
AND SO I LIKE DOING THAT EXPERIENCE, LIKE I SAID, TO, TO BE ABLE TO INFORM USERS THAT, THAT WOULD EXPERIENCE THAT.
AND YOU HAD A, A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS WELL, RIGHT? HARRY? MY, MY GRANDFATHER ACTUALLY, WHO'S JUST A, A LITTLE BIT OLDER THAN DAVID.
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NO, HE, UM, HE, HE'S IN HIS LATE EIGHTIES AND HE RECENTLY RENTED A A, A TESLA AS WELL.UM, THEY GAVE HIM A CHARGER, WHICH HE WAS ABLE TO PLUG IN AT HOME.
AND, UH, GRANTED, HE, HE DOESN'T DRIVE VERY MUCH, BUT HE DROVE ENOUGH WHERE HE DID NEED TO CHARGE IT, AND IT, IT WAS FOR HIM AS SIMPLE AS JUST PLUGGING IN IT AT HOME.
AND I SAY, IF, IF MY GRANDFATHER CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO RENT AND DRIVE AN EV, THEN JUST ABOUT ANYONE CAN
THE CONSUMER EDUCATION PIECE IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND WE, WE DO A LOT WITH OUR CONSUMERS.
UH, WHEN YOU RENT AN EV, OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENTS WILL FIRST ASK YOU IF YOU'VE EVER DRIVEN ONE.
UH, IF NOT, THEY WILL TAKE YOU OUT TO THE VEHICLE.
THEY'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO OPEN THE DOOR BECAUSE IT LOOKS DIFFERENT IN A TESLA THAN A TRADITIONAL VEHICLE.
UH, THEY'LL SHOW YOU THE TOUCH SCREEN.
AND WHAT WE'RE BUILDING IS A, A DIGITAL EXPERIENCE FOR THE TRAVELER THAT, UH, GIVES THEM THE INFORMATION THEY NEED AND THE CONFIDENCE THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO RENT A VEHICLE AND, AND TAKE IT WHILE THEY'RE ON THE ROAD.
THE, THE GRAND VISION FOR US AND OUR PARTNERS WHO ARE IN THE PUBLIC CHARGING BUSINESS IS TO GIVE THE CUSTOMER AN EXPERIENCE THAT ALLOWS THEM TO NOT ONLY RENT THE VEHICLE, BUT WITHIN THEIR APP, THEY CAN IDENTIFY CHARGING LOCATIONS THAT ARE IN OUR NETWORK VERSUS OUTER NETWORK, AND WE MAY BE ABLE TO BRING ADDITIONAL BENEFITS TO THOSE CUSTOMERS.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RESERVE TIME IF IT'S IN A CROWDED AREA, OR YOU MAY GET DISCOUNTED RATES BY CHARGING AT ONE OF HERTZ'S PARTNER OPERATORS VERSUS CHARGING IN THE WILD.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THESE THINGS TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, BUT MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE CONFIDENCE.
AND I KNOW THAT THE FEDERAL MONEY THAT'S BEING SPENT IS GOING A LONG WAY TO SOLVE THAT AS WELL WITH THE HIGHWAY CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AS WELL AS NOW THE COMMUNITY CHARGING.
SO IT'S, IT'S A COLLECTIVE EFFORT.
UH, CONSUMERS ARE GETTING THERE, AND I THINK THE RENTAL VEHICLE INDUSTRY, UM, IS REALLY LEADING THE WAY IN TERMS OF, UH, FOSTERING ADOPTION AND CONVERSION.
UM, I, I THINK IT, IT'S GREAT, RIGHT? THAT YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, UM, REPRESENTATIVES CAN TEACH THE DRIVER HOW, HOW TO USE AN EV 'CAUSE IT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
UM, BUT TO, TO GO A LITTLE BIT BEYOND THAT, IT TAKES A DIFFERENT TYPE OF THINKING, RIGHT? WHEN, WHEN YOU DRIVE AN ICE VEHICLE, YOU KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR, YOU KNOW THAT YOU NEED TO GO TO A GAS STATION, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UH, BUT WITH AN EV THAT'S DIFFERENT, RIGHT? AND, AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC AND SAYING, HEY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO THE GAS STATION, THEN THE GROCERY STORE, YOU CAN GO TO THE GROCERY STORE AND FUEL UP AT THE GROCERY STORE.
YOU CAN GO TO THE PARK AND FUEL UP YOUR VEHICLE AT THE PARK.
UM, SO THERE, THERE ARE THESE, THESE LIKE PSYCHOLOGICAL, UH, UH, UM, I GUESS LESSONS, RIGHT? THAT, THAT NEED TO BE TAUGHT AND COMMUNICATED TO THE PUBLIC TO SHOW THAT IT, IT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT, UH, IN MANY CASES IT CAN BE A LOT MORE CONVENIENT.
AND YOU CAN ALSO LOBBY YOUR WORKPLACE OR PLACES THAT YOU PATRONIZE, UM, FOR THEM TO HAVE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS, RIGHT? I LOBBIED FOR CHARGERS AT OUR OFFICE WHEN I BOUGHT AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE IN 2014.
THEY PUT UP A COUPLE OF CHARGERS, AND BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE SAW THOSE CHARGERS AROUND, THEY WENT OUT AND ALSO BOUGHT ELECTRIC VEHICLES, RIGHT? SO IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE THAT IT STARTED WITH ME.
AND THEN NOW WE HAVE ABOUT 13 OF 'EM IN OUR OFFICE.
UM, AND SO IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN INTERESTING.
IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S CONTINUING TO EVOLVE AND IT, IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME ADJUSTMENT BOTH FROM US AS CITIZENS AND USERS OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, BUT ALSO ON THE BEHA ON PART OF THOSE THAT ARE PROVIDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, BEFORE WE WRAP UP, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE MINUTES AND WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, I MEAN, POTENTIALLY ELECTRIC VEHICLES, UH, HAVE, TAKE GREAT BENEFIT OF PRODUC POLLUTION AND ALL THAT, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE TRUE IS THE ELECTRICITY IS PRODUCED IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T PRODUCE POLLUTION, RIGHT? SO ALL EXPANSION THAT, UM, ARE COMING TO THE FUTURE FOR, UM, THE, HOW MUCH OF THAT ELECTRICITY IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE USED BY OR BY ELECTRIC, YOU KNOW, COAL, RIGHT? UH, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A GAME, RIGHT? YEAH.
I'LL, I'LL SAY CENTER POINT ENERGY DOES NOT OWN OR OPERATE GENERATION, BUT, UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S A, UH, DEREGULATED PIECE OF OUR MARKET.
BUT I WILL SAY THAT TEXAS HAS MORE WIND POWER THAN THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR STATES COMBINED.
WE'VE GOT OVER 30,000 MEGAWATTS OF GENERATION.
AND ALSO YOU SEE A LOT OF COAL COMING IN.
I MEAN, IT'S DISPLACING COAL, BUT WE ALSO SEE A LOT OF SOLAR COMING IN AS WELL.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE ERCOT PLANS BETWEEN NOW AND 2030, IT'S MOSTLY WIND AND, AND SOLAR.
AND SO YOU'LL, OUR GRID WILL CONTINUE TO GET GREENER AS AS WE DO.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE BEAUTIES OF, OF DRIVING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE.
YOUR VEHICLE BECOMES CLEANER FIVE YEARS FROM NOW THAN WHEN THE DAY YOU BOUGHT IT.
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AND JUST TO ADD TO THAT, THE EPA ALSO HAS A GREAT RESOURCE WHERE YOU CAN PUT IN, FOR THE LONGEST TIME IT WAS YOUR STATE, BUT IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE LOCALIZED IN THAT NOW, UH, AND THE VEHICLE YOU DRIVE AND POTENTIAL EVS, AND IT SHOWS THE, UM, THE REDUCTION IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BASED ON THE ELECTRICITY SOURCE MIX, UH, UH, FOR WHERE YOU ARE.SO IT CAN SHOW THAT, FOR INSTANCE, MAYBE A TESLA IS 40, 50, 60% CLEANER THAN, UH, UM, A TRADITIONAL ICE VEHICLE.
FELIPE, UM, I THINK THERE'S A QUESTION FOR HARRY.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M WITH THE CITY AND, UM, THE CITY HAS, I THINK TO OUR CREDIT, BEEN, UM, LOOKING INTO EVS FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, FOR INSTANCE, IN OUR LEAD CERTIFIED BUILDINGS, WE'VE HAD EV STATIONS AT SOME OF OUR LIBRARIES AND WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, WE PUT IN SOME BLANKS, UM, AND THEY'RE GONE.
AND SO I'M WONDERING, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT WE'RE COMING ON THIS SECOND WAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, OF EV UH, UH, CHARGING STATIONS, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN, I DON'T KNOW, SOME, UH, STATIONS GET, YOU KNOW, INSTALLED? UH, AND IS SOMEBODY GONNA COME AROUND AND, AND PICK UP AFTER COMPANIES THAT DIDN'T DO SO WELL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? UH, A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, AND, AND A HUGE CONCERN, RIGHT? I, I'M NOT WITH THE CITY, SO I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK ON THE CITY'S BEHALF.
UM, BUT FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD, UH, FROM LOCAL, UH, EV DRIVERS IS THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS IS YOU'LL GO ON YOUR PHONE AND YOU'LL LOOK WHERE A CHARGER IS, UH, AND YOU'LL GO THERE AND IT'S EITHER THERE AND AVAILABLE OR IT'S THERE AND SOMEONE ELSE IS USING IT, OR IT'S THERE AND IT'S BROKEN AND, AND YOU CAN'T USE IT.
UM, SO, UH, THERE, THERE'S A ALMOST A LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY IN WHETHER IT'S A PROPERTY OWNER, UH, WHETHER THAT'S THE CITY, UH, OR IF IT'S SOMEONE ELSE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT MAINTENANCE IS, IS TAKEN CARE OF.
UM, AG AGAIN, LIKE WE, WE CAN GO DOWN A RABBIT HOLE, RIGHT? TALKING ABOUT A DA COMPLIANCE RECORDS ON THE GROUND OR, OR WEATHER RESILIENCE IF IT RAINS AND FLOODS.
UM, BUT REALLY, I, I THINK IT COMES DOWN, UH, A A LOT OF THE TIME TO, TO THAT PROPERTY OWNER TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE IS BEING TAKEN CARE OF APPROPRIATELY, RIGHT? THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE INSTALL A CERTAIN BRAND AND THAT BRAND GOES OUT BUSINESS, IT'S NOT THERE WITH A DEVICE, RIGHT? A, A AGAIN, I, I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK ON THE CITY'S BEHALF OR, OR ON BLINKS BEHALF, RIGHT? UH, YEAH,
THERE'S, THERE'S A THING CALLED O-C-P-P-O, OPEN CHARGEPOINT PROTOCOL.
IT'S A STANDARD OF COMMUNICATION FOR CHARGING STATIONS.
SO THE KEY IS MAKING SURE YOU HAVE THAT INTEROPERABILITY OF PUTTING IN THAT BRAND OF CHARGING STATION.
UM, SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF CHARGING STATIONS OUT THERE THAT ALL HAVE THAT TECHNOLOGY.
SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF BRINGING IN A SOFTWARE COMPANY TO MANAGE OUR CHARGING STATIONS, BUT IF THAT SOFTWARE COMPANY GOES OUT OF BUSINESS, ANOTHER ONE CAN COME IN AND PICK UP THOSE CHARGING STATIONS.
AND I CAN SAY THAT, THAT THE CITY IS CURRENTLY USING THAT.
WE'VE GOT A CLOUD BASED REPORTING SYSTEM, SO WE KNOW, UH, WHERE EACH OF OUR CHARGERS ARE, WHICH ONES ARE OPERATIONAL, AND WHEN THEY'RE BEING USED, HOW MANY KILOWATT HOURS ARE BEING CONSUMED AT THAT PARTICULAR LOCATION.
SO THAT GIVES US A MUCH BETTER PERSPECTIVE COMPARED TO, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THERE, UH, UH, THAT PARTICULAR CONTRACTOR JUST KIND OF WALKED AWAY AND, AND FELT THAT IT WAS NO LONGER PROFITABLE, UH, FOR THEM.
BUT THAT IS A BIG DISCUSSION ITEM.
SO HOW DO YOU RECOUP THOSE CHARGES FOR ELECTRICITY THAT'S DISPENSED OUT OF THESE CHARGERS AT PUBLIC LOCATIONS? AND I CAN TELL YOU THERE'S A LOT OF HEAVY TALK GOING AROUND WITHIN THE CITY TO TRY TO DETERMINE THE BEST WAY OF DOING THAT.
AND, AND IT ALSO INVOLVES A LOT OF REGULATION, UH, UH, STATE REGULATION, YOU KNOW, WHO GETS TO SELL ELECTRICITY AND, UH, AND HOW WILL THAT BE APPROACHED AS THESE CHARGERS ARE PLACED IN A, IN A PUBLIC FACING ENVIRONMENT.
UH, ANY, ANY CHARGERS THAT ARE INSTALLED WITH FEDERAL FUNDING WITH THIS LATEST CHARGING AND FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT, UH, BRING WITH IT UPTIME REQUIREMENTS, MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS, AND A COMMITMENT BY THE CHARGEPOINT OPERATOR THAT THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN AND SERVICE THOSE, UH, CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, WITH PENALTIES IF THEY DON'T.
UM, I HAD HEARD THAT, UH, WITH THE EXTRA WEIGHT THAT SOME OF THESE, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLES HAVE COMPARED TO GAS VEHICLES, THERE WAS CONCERN OVER THE DEGRADATION OF, UM, OUR STREETS, UM, AND ROADWAYS.
AND THAT MIGHT BE A QUESTION, CITY OF HOUSTON WISE, I'M CURIOUS WHAT Y'ALL HAVE HEARD AND WHAT CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING
[00:40:01]
ON THAT END.WELL, AT, AT THE, UH, AT THE SEDAN LEVEL, THE LIGHT DUTY LEVEL, WE'RE NOT SEEING A BIG WEIGHT DIFFERENCE.
NOW, I DO KNOW I CAME FROM, UH, TRANSIT PRIOR TO COMING TO, TO THE CITY, AND I DO KNOW THAT FOR EXTENDED RANGE OPERATION, THERE'S A LOT OF WEIGHT ON THOSE BUSES THAT, AND BATTERIES THAT, THAT, UH, UH, UH, MUST BE CONSIDERED.
I DO KNOW THERE'S SOME, SOME, UH, BILLS THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED CURRENTLY AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT, UH, THAT ADDRESSES THAT ISSUE IN PARTICULAR.
AND THEN, UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE'VE ALSO GOTTA BE MINDFUL OF EVERY TIME WE, WE PUMP A GALLON OF GAS INTO OUR CAR, WE'RE PAYING 20 CENTS TAXES, 10 CENTS, UH, TO THE STATE, 10 CENTS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE CHARGING AN EV YOU'RE NOT PAYING THOSE TAXES ANYMORE.
THOSE TAXES GO TO KEEPING UP THE, UH, ROADWAYS.
AND SO THAT'S ALSO BEING ADDRESSED WITHIN THE, UH, UH, STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION AS WELL.
SO, SO THERE MAY BE SOME, UH, SOME EXTRA CHARGES COMING FOR EVS AND THE YEARLY REGISTRATION FEE, I WAS READING ABOUT IT LAST WEEK.
SO MY QUESTION IS TO STEVE, UH, HERS.
SO I JUST WANT TO HEAR MORE, I MEAN, IF YOU CAN ELABORATE MORE ON, IS THERE ANY CHANGES ON YOUR BUSINESS MODEL WHEN CHANGING FROM INTERNAL COMBUSTION TO EVS? AND JUST AN EXAMPLE.
SO IF SOMEONE IS RENTING A CAR AND YOU'RE GOING TO THE AIRPORT, YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO EITHER YOU FILL THE TANK OR JUST GIVE IT BACK, JUST, UH, AND THEN HERS WILL FEEL IT FOR YOU, BUT AT A HIGHER PRICE, RIGHT? ON, ON THE, ON THE, ON THE GALLON.
SO ANY OTHER CHANGES OR, OR HOW THE BUSINESS MODEL CHANGES FROM AN EV TO A, THE, THE OLD WAY? YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE.
SO THE WAY IT WORKS NOW, WHEN YOU RENT AN EV FROM HERTZ, UH, WE ASK FOR A $35 DEPOSIT WHEN YOU RENT THE VEHICLE, IF YOU BRING THE VEHICLE BACK WITH AT LEAST 70% CHARGE, YOU GET YOUR $35 BACK.
UH, AND IF YOU DON'T, WE KEEP THE $35 AND WE'LL CHARGE IT FOR THE NEXT CUSTOMER.
IT'S A WAY FOR US TO FURTHER INCENTIVIZE CONSUMERS TO BRING THE VEHICLE BACK.
IT'S BETTER FOR BATTERY HEALTH.
IT, UH, GIVEN OUR, OUR CHARGING CHALLENGES AT AIRPORTS AND THE CAPACITY AND THE NUMBER OF CHARGERS WE HAVE, IT'S JUST HELPFUL FOR OUR OPERATIONS.
WELL, WELL I WAS THINKING THAT, THAT IT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR PEOPLE TO FILL IT BECAUSE THERE ARE LESS LOCATION.
SO WITH A, WITH A NORMAL CAR, I MEAN, YOU JUST FILL IT IN FIVE MINUTES WHILE ON THIS ONE, IT'S A, IT'S A CHALLENGE, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.
AND WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO SOLVE THAT WITH THE LARGE SCALE, FAST CHARGING HUB THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER AT AIRPORTS.
WELL, SO THERE IS LUNCH UPSTAIRS.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE, THERE'S A, A, A KEYNOTE SPEAKER THAT'S GONNA BE GOING ON UPSTAIRS.
I WANT TO THANK OUR PANELISTS FOR TAKING TIME OUT, THEIR BUSY SCHEDULES TO BE HERE WITH US AND HELPING TO INFORM OUR FELLOW CITIZENS ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES, RIGHT? I THINK A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING MAKING A TRANSITION TO AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, THERE ARE MANY CONSIDERATIONS THAT GO INTO IT.
HOW GREEN IS THE VEHICLE? IS IT AS GREEN AS IT SEEMS? WHERE CAN I CHARGE IT? UM, THESE ARE ALL QUESTIONS THAT WE ALL HAVE.
AND AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING US TO SHE SOME LIGHT ON WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE IT TRANSITION POSSIBLE.