• Coordinator Basics
• Outreach
• Education & Webinars
  • Online Learning
  • Webinars
  • Internships
• Meetings
• Reporting
• Contacts

Electric Vehicle Summer 2011 Quarterly Discussion Webinar (Text Version)

This is a text version of the video for the Electric Vehicle Summer 2011 Quarterly Discussion webinar presented on June 14, 2011, by Mike Simpson, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Bernie Kotlier and Jennifer Mefford, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program.

COORDINATOR: Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session.

To ask a question at that time, please press star, then one, and record your name. Today's conference is being recorded. If there are any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Linda Bluestein. You may begin.

LINDA BLUESTEIN: Hello. I'm Linda Bluestein with the Department of Energy Clean Cities program at DOE headquarters in Washington, DC. Thanks for tuning into the DOE Clean Cities quarterly EV webinar.

Today we have two presentations. The first will be a continued discussion on the model permit that we had introduced to you the concept earlier this year. The model permit we discussed in a previous quarterly session has been finalized and we'll have Mike Simpson from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory discuss what it is, why it's important, how it can be used in community EV planning, and what you need to know to get this in front of the right people in your community.

Secondly, we'll have Bernie Kotlier and Jennifer Mefford discuss the electrical vehicle infrastructure training program. This is a structured platform for delivering training and certification for the installation of electric vehicles supply equipment, and this is across residential, commercial, and public markets.

Jennifer and Bernie will talk to you about their training and explain their program. And give us an idea about why this training matters at the local level and opportunities to intersect with Clean Cities coalitions and other partners at the local level. We'll have a Q and A period after each presentation and, as usual, we'll yield first to questions from Clean Cities coordinators.

On the EV installations, one reason we're having this particular presentation is because we all know that it's really important for EV installations to be expertly done. And they need to be safe. And safe installation of infrastructure will be key for consumer and fleet acceptance of EVs. This training that they're going to talk about goes a long way towards addressing this.

And that's why installers should be taking these types of classes. And the installers in your community, you would want them to be trained in the way that the EVITP is doing it. And, in addition to that, it would be important for installers and inspectors in your community to know about the model permit as well.

So that's why we paired these two together. And we're going to start with Mike Simpson talking about the model permit. And, you know, his information is that he has been with NREL starting in 2010. He conducts analyses on performance of plug-in electric vehicles and PEV infrastructure and their influence on renewable energy integration.

Before joining NREL, Mike was an analyst at Rocky Mountain Institute; where he helped lead the Smart Garage Project. He's performed financial modeling of vehicle grid play structures and performance model validation with industry interactions and test data. Previously at Aeroenvironment, Inc., Mike designed, simulated, and tested electric and hybrid electric unmanned aerial vehicles.

And Mike has an MS in system design and optimization from Georgia Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado. So Mike, welcome. And we look forward to your presentation.

MIKE SIMPSON: Hello. And thank you all for joining us. Thank you for that warm introduction, Linda. I want to talk through a few slides here that discuss a document that we have put together around basically a template for vehicle infrastructure installation permitting.

And so this is something that we hope would apply to all your stakeholders. People interested all the way from consumers, obviously, who are going to have to be at least working with somebody to fill out this paperwork, through installers, to vehicle manufacturers. And, of course, possibly even utilities. And I'll kind of walk through that, and then, at the end of all of the presentations, I'll be happy to entertain any questions.

So why do we even need a permit for charging equipment? And so I'm sure many of you are quite familiar with this equipment now; as vehicles are starting to roll out across the nation. But for those of you who may not be, this stuff is really a major appliance. These things can draw as much power as a large air conditioner or an electric clothing dryer.

And that extra service is definitely going to require some additional equipment, and must comply with codes and standards. So the permitting we find is going to be very commonly required in most jurisdictions around the country. And, of course, those jurisdictions' requirements will vary. But we want to go through some of the details of this template so that you can have a starting point if you don't already have something in place.

So a little bit of background on the project. There is a grid integration tech team that is essentially a group formed with a couple of people from national lab, some of the automotive manufacturers, and the DOE. And they had requested that the DOE put together and look into streamlining the plug-in electric vehicle infrastructure deployment.

So there were a lot of suggestions thrown around. And one of the pieces of low hanging fruit that was identified as something DOE could focus on was developing this permitting template, so that cities could have something to start with, and start rolling out infrastructure as quickly as possible where needed.

So DOE funded the effort and we had a team here working on that. I was part of that team, with Carl Rivkin, Chad Blake, Melanie Caton—all at NREL—and Eric Lee, from Chrysler, played a large role in this as well as Richard Chromey and Bob Graham from Southern California Edison. DTE was involved, with Nick Carlson, and the program was sponsored by Elise Liezak in DOE. And then, obviously more recently, by Clean Cities.

So just a basic timeline of what happened. There was a gap analysis conducted of requirements. And as you all know, of the thousands of different jurisdictions around the country, as I said earlier, they all have a wide variety of different requirements, different ways of doing business, different processes, different paperwork.

So there is clearly a lot of ground to cover here, but there was some common ground. And by evaluating some of the current procedures, qualifying some of the best practices, they were able to take those findings, work it into a draft, get feedback with several different jurisdictions, and then eventually feedback from the Department of Energy to make it as applicable as possible.

And we have now issued a final document that will be posted to the website soon and I'll go through some of the details of that with you here. But, essentially, there were some particularly interesting findings. In some jurisdictions, there was an immediate permit issuance that we found to be an ideal procedure. Where they had an electronic process typically done over the Web that could be easily updated or revised to accommodate EVSEs, the supply equipment, or the charging stations.

And because it was electronically available over the Web, it really did expedite the process in these places. So it was something where there was something of an emergency type of, while that word may not always be correct, but an emergency type of procedure where, if your water heater goes out, you know, you don't have to wait around for 15 signatures to get this done.

You can do it online and have the necessary processes already in place automatically checked. So that was something that we identified as a key best case. Also, that process was also done in some jurisdictions without inspection at times. And now that's not necessarily recommended—to allow operation without inspection.

There are certain differences in the jurisdiction procedures that, again, did expedite the process. With other checks in place, checks on the license, electrician, et cetera. So we also found that utility partnership was critical, and that the authority having jurisdiction really was different in each location. It's usually the building department, but sometimes it's the fire department.

Like I said, for those of you who may just be starting down this road, it'll be important to identify exactly who you're going to be working with on this if you're interested in applying the template. So the template itself is a set of guidelines. It's really a starting place. And it's a set of requirements that you can use as something of a generic permit.

It can also be taken and edited to your specific needs, but it really is set out to apply directly to residential charging installations and gets at the most critical needs here—knowing that each jurisdiction can take it and edit it for their own issues. So what it does list, though, is the labeling requirements. What's referred to as the listing requirements or certifications there, UL listing, et cetera, the wiring methods, break away requirements, over current protection, indoor and outdoor siting.

And it gets at, like I said, the main touch points there. And it's divided up into four sections. There is a basic form to input jurisdiction information, name, address, the usual. There is a code requirements section that contains a detailed list of all the different codes from the National Electrical Code to even some of the others that apply here.

There is a certification statement so that the owner can sign that and the electrician can approve the work that's been done. And then, finally, there is a checklist for jurisdictions to add in their own information about what else may need to be done or what else would be preferred be done in that specific jurisdiction.

And then there is also a set of sample diagrams that you can provide both to installers and the users so they can identify where in their building is the optimal location for this EVSE and how those requirements may differ. This is just an example. It is in the template right now, but, of course, could be replaced by the specific needs of that jurisdiction.

So with this, we went out and approached several jurisdictions, which we felt would be conducive to this. In many cases, we're already advancing along this route and had some prior knowledge of electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles, and their infrastructure. And we have got some real good feedback in return with Richmond, Virginia, and the state of Massachusetts.

They have already said they are very interested in using pieces of the template and are planning to. Austin, Texas, and San Jose were considering use of it. And we discussed with San Antonio, who already had a lot of processes in place. Specifically, they had the inspection exemption; where it could be done upon request.

But as long as the installation was done by a licensed electrician, everything was basically kosher from that point on. So again, it was a case study that some jurisdictions may be able to apply; others may not. We also met with Boulder County in our backyard to see their opinion and received very positive feedback.

And they had already had some processes in place. But they were able to help guide some of the edits and revisions to this template. So, really, what does it mean to you? And as I said, many of you are probably further down the road. Already have these processes in place. But for those of you who are just starting, this can be used as it is. By adding a jurisdiction name to the template and can be put into action just like that.

But I would imagine that most jurisdictions will have some specific needs. They'll need to customize the template pertaining to their requirements and possibly add some additional details or steps that could further streamline the process. Or potentially guidelines that could help streamline that. So as I mentioned, we'll be posting that on the AFDC, the Alternative Fuels Data Center, as soon as possible.

And you'll be able to download that and edit it upon request. So as I mentioned, if you go to the AFDC, the link there, you can find out more about this or you can send me an e-mail. Or, after all the presentations; I will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much.

LINDA BLUESTEIN: Thank you, Mike. I think now we're going to go ahead and have our discussion about the electric vehicle infrastructure training program. And then we'll circle around and have questions on all of it when Jennifer Mefford and Bernie Kotlier are done with their presentations.

First, I'll just give you a short summary of, you know, who they are and their qualifications. And then I'll let them take it from there. Bernie develops, promotes, and delivers sustainable energy training for electricians and business development programs for electrical contractors in California, including energy auditing, energy efficiency, photovoltaics, and electric vehicles.

Bernie has been a member of the California Public Utilities Commission advisory committee on energy efficiency workforce development and a POC working group on lighting. He serves as co-chair of the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program, co-chair of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program, and is a member of the state of California Schools of the Future initiative advisory committee.

Prior to the LMCC, Bernie directed business development for Selectria Renewables in the western U.S., was president of Brunswick Bicycles International, president of Bell Sports' specialty realty division, and president of Service Cycle Mongoose. And Jennifer, who will be co-presenting these slides with him—I think they're going to take turns—has over 18 years of business development, marketing, and management experience for many large, small, and mid-size companies.

And she is business development director for the Southeastern Michigan Labor Management Cooperation Committee and works across traditional and new market sectors on behalf of the National Electrical Contractors Association of Southeastern Michigan and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58.

She has experience in program and event management of all levels, strategic planning, sales, public relations, marketing, and economic development. And Jennifer was named—she has got a background in media—and she was named one of Radio, Inc's women to watch in 2008. She is a current board member of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and a national co-chair of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP). So we'll let them take it from here.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Great. Thanks, Linda, for that terrific introduction. As Linda stated earlier, the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program, or EVITP, is a structured platform for delivering training and certification for the installation of charging equipment.

We are focused on all the different types of markets and EVITP is a not-for-profit collaborative training program. It addresses the technical requirements, but really, the design of EVITP is to address the whole market. It's our feeling and the feeling of the EVITP collaborative that installers, electricians, and contractors in this early phase of the EV market need to understand all aspects of the EV industry in order to adequately serve those customers.

There are just a lot more questions up front in a new market. And that's why they need to know everything, from information about the vehicle, safety standards, and technical requirements. So we are a collaboration of automobile manufacturers, different utilities from around the country, equipment manufacturers, energy storage device manufacturers, local inspectors, state and local inspectors, contractors, electricians, and first responders.

So we have a very interesting group of people that are approaching the industry from a lot of different directions, but really all moving towards the same standard of wanting a quality measurement for the installation of charging equipment. Who is part of our EVITP partnership? These are the companies that are currently signed up with us.

We have nearly 30 partners at this point. Large companies. Again from the automotive, utility, charging station, or supporting industry sectors. Here are just some more for you to take a look at. But we have been working in collaboration with them for about the last 5 months and really talking with them about what their needs are in terms of what they are seeing initially in early installations in the field.

And what do we need to be conveying to our contractors and our installers? So we're basically taking best practices from a variety of view points and putting them into our curriculum so that we can serve the industry at the highest level. Our philosophy is to create a demand-based workforce training. We don't want to over prepare the market with electricians and contractors.

But we do want to adequately prepare. So we have been, again, working with those companies that are a part of the EVITP partner advisory group to look at how many contractors are they going to be needing and how can we scale up for this industry appropriately. The curriculum will remain fluid in response to real market issues and developments.

We are in conversation consistently with our partners about the new things that they are seeing in the field and within their industry; any new technology developments that are coming so that we can continue to incorporate that information into our curriculum. Our curriculum is 100% from those industry partners.

So it really provides the contractor and installer a great foundation to go out and serve this market. And the industry collaboration is key. The ability to remain timely in this time of great evolution, in this market, I think is really a critical point. And Bernie is going to walk you through our curriculum; and talk a little bit more about how we put it together and how we're disseminating it. Bernie.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Thank you, Jen. The EVITP curriculum is really a great example of the power of the electric vehicle infrastructure's collaboration with the industry. And, as Jen already noted, the content has been contributed 100% from members of the industry.

And, also, I should note that it is a completely volunteer effort. The industry has come together and done all of this work on a pro bono basis and contributed all the curriculum on that volunteer effort. And we're really, really, pleased with the way that's worked out.

The instructor qualifications to teach this curriculum are listed here on this next slide. They are the qualifications for our master instructor training, which we first held in Chicago a little over a month ago. And to be a master instructor, instructors are required to meet, or exceed, a number of minimum eligibility requirements.

First, they must be a state licensed or certified commercial/industrial electrician, a master electrician, or an electrical administrator. And the reason there are different descriptions there is because, in different states around the country, we have similar qualifications, but different nomenclature to identify them. Or they have to be a state-licensed or registered professional electrical engineer or an IAEI-certified electrical inspector. And that is, of course, the International Association of Electrical Inspectors.

And so this is, in addition to those requirements, they must have a minimum of 5 years of experience providing instruction at the train-the-trainer-level and must have a National Training Institute instructor certification or equivalent technical teaching credential. And they must have adequate time to teach EVITP course material on an ongoing, regular basis.

And that requirement started in May. Moving forward, the qualifications for an electrician to participate in this program and be a candidate for certification are a little bit different. Just to begin with, we talked about the requirements for a master trainer or a master instructor. Now we're talking about the electricians who actually do the work, who would be the participants in the course.

And those electricians must be a state-licensed or certified commercial/industrial electrician, a master electrician, or electrical administrator. Once again, different nomenclature and different states and regions, but basically the same type of qualification. They must be a state-licensed electrician, which means that they be journey-level, inside wiremen. As opposed to outside people who work on power lines.

And they would have completed a state or federally approved electrical apprenticeship program with a minimum of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and a minimum of 720 hours of related classroom and laboratory instruction. So the state-certified electricians, the journey man inside wiremen, who have completed a state or federally approved electrical apprenticeship with that minimum would be eligible for the class. To enter the class.

The contractor's qualifications would be that they be state-licensed and bonded electrical contractors, or that they be state-licensed and bonded electrical administrators—and that would be for Alaska—or master electricians. Once again, a little different in different states, but roughly the same type of qualification.

Then, moving on to the course curriculum. I'd like to give you an idea of what the course is all about. We have a description here in summary. It is a 24–30 hour class that comprehensively addresses the requirements, regulations, products and strategies, which will enable electrical contractors and electricians to master successful, expert, and professional customer relations, installation, and maintenance of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle infrastructure.

So we're looking at a very broad and comprehensive approach to this. So not only the installation, but also the long-term maintenance as well. To make sure these devices and these systems are going to work properly over the long term. The objectives of this class are that, first of all, graduates will have gained thorough knowledge and practical application of all the covered electrical vehicle infrastructure subjects, including the critical areas of customer experience, protection of utility systems, vehicle charging technical applications, and safety.

And this may surprise some people, because generally, people in the industry and outside the industry would expect a course like this to focus primarily just on the installation of the systems. But we've found from our partners, from the members, and many of them representing different aspects of the industry—from automakers to utilities—that the customer experience has been a very important concern of theirs and has been included. And it's actually worked very well in the instruction.

The plan of the course is that this phase one, and there are two phases, and we'll talk about the second one in a moment. But this phase one of the class focuses on Level 1 and Level 2 charging systems and those subjects that relate to it. The phase two class, which will be delivered later this year, will cover Level 3 systems. Facility-based energy storage, meaning storage that's not in the car, that's actually used in the facility as a backup for other systems to do the charging.

And EVSE troubleshooting repair and maintenance. That's something that our partners have been looking for, and we have filled in and added to the course outline. The phase one class, in more specific summary, starts with an overview of electric vehicles, the background, and then talks about the types of electric vehicles present and future.

We look at electric vehicle manufacturers and products. We go into the vehicle charging unit manufacturers and products. Otherwise, actually more accurately referred to as the EVSE, the electric vehicle supply equipment. I'm using that somewhat interchangeably with the charging unit that some people like to refer to.

The utility policy notification and the creation is covered. Electric vehicle rules and regulations. We talk about the electric vehicle charging site assessment. And go into the load calculations as well. And then to electric vehicle charging stations and charging load requirements. We move on to the code officials and inspection.

We work on electrical codes, electrical safety requirements, and other regulations and standards that may apply. We study the electrical charging installation. The renewable energy and electric vehicles themselves. The various different types of vehicles and their specifics. We talk about first responders and their needs, and working with them.

And, of course, the customer relations that I mentioned earlier. The contractor's role and the electrician's role. The contractor being, in most states in the country, the company that actually contracts for the work. And the electrician generally is the employee who does the work. We go on to field installation practicum, which is the lab portion where they actually do the hands-on portion of the class.

And then, finally, to the written exam and the certification; if they pass. So that, I think, gives you a good idea of what the class is all about. At least the highlights. The master train-the-trainer is next and Jen is going to tell us about how we handle that. Jennifer.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Great. Thanks, Bernie. We started out our initiative wanting to be able to have adequate training coverage in at least the 21 launch markets that were identified by the Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and the Ford Focus Electric that is coming later this year.

So we started our master train-the-trainer event in April, with 54 candidates from 21 states. Some states that have a higher percentage of vehicles in those markets had more than one instructor because there is higher demand obviously in those areas. They completed their instruction at that event and they are now back in their home markets.

And they're doing two things: they are training more instructors, and they are also training electricians. So we'll show you what that footprint looks like in a moment. And we just wanted to share with you really the strategy behind where we rolled this out initially. But, as we move through this year; all 50 states will have representation as far as instructors.

And will be hosting classes for electricians. Here are some pictures of the event that we had in Chicago. Twenty-four hours of classroom, plus the lab practicum, was given to EVITP candidates with a variety, again, of speakers that came in to talk with these folks about different aspects of the industry. Many of the EVITP partner advisors were able to share their real-time information with this group, which just makes everything that they take back and teach to others very relevant. Very timely.

The picture on the lower right is actually of one of the lab practicum settings. These two instructors are going through doing load calculations and a site assessment in a residential home setting. And the lady in the lower right corner is a customer. Part of our training is a role-playing exercise with customers—so that our electricians and our instructors can become very familiar with the questions that customers are asking as they are getting this equipment installed in their home.

We have had the Volt product at the event, and certainly we look forward to having more and different types of products at future training events. Bernie is going to walk you through the footprint of where our instructors are, and where our training events are being held today. Bernie.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Thank you, Jen. So we want to talk about the footprint for the MT3. MT3, once again, being the master train-the-trainer event that we held in Chicago that Jen just reviewed.

And if we look now at the map of that footprint, we can see that, in red, we have the current EVITP certified master instructors. And those instructors were drawn from states that represented the initial roll-out markets. When we put together the major companies' roll-out markets—meaning General Motors, Nissan, and Ford—we came up with 21 major markets.

We drew instructors from those markets and for the most part, not completely, but for the most part, this map represents the instructors who have been trained from those markets. There are a few additional ones as well, but it's pretty good coverage for the initial instructor availability. The yellow states represent the second roll-out of EVITP instructors and the white states would be the third roll-out as we go forward.

And going on, the next steps for EVITP are that, by the end of July, our master instructors will have completed course training in those 21 states I mentioned and the few additional ones where we have instructors. And that, that instruction, will be to both train additional EVITP instructors so the master instructors have two roles: to train instructors and also to be holding classes for electricians.

And those instructors that they train will be additionally training electricians. Next, the training will be offered through a network of electrical industry training centers and selected community colleges throughout the United States. We have community colleges that have already joined in California. Others who are in process in California will be training instructors this summer.

And that will be with the advanced transportation and energy group of the California community colleges. And they have colleges all around the state of California. The phase two training will focus on Level 3 charging and facility-based energy storage, and that will be implemented through the master train-the-trainer network later in this year.

So Jen is going to talk to you now about collaboration and what we're hoping to do together. And I'll turn it over to Jen to wrap it up.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Thank you. So EVITP should represent, and does represent, a great standard to look at as folks in your areas and your home markets are looking at hiring contractors and electricians to do installations.

It is a high-level of instructor; as you can see from the detail that Bernie went into. It's a high-level electrician. So it's starting with a great foundation of quality, and layering on a terrific specialty certification in the electric vehicle industry. We are currently working with DOE and Clean Cities on some guidebook information for EV. Contributing information on EVITP to the EVSE 101 video.

We would also offer an opportunity to do some partnership for outreach events in your local markets. The EVSE, we are EVSE subject matter experts, but the EVITP partner collaborative is certainly open to provide speakers for your events, to provide promotion for your events, anything that we can do to help your communities become more prepared and join and help support your efforts. We would welcome that.

We are always looking for more EVITP partner advisors. So if there are companies, they may be stakeholders that you are currently working with in this space, or new organizations or companies that you feel would be benefitted by an affiliation with EVITP, we welcome that. We are typically picking up two or three new partners every week as we go. And that's wonderful.

And then, certainly, EVITP could be recommended as a certification to look for the installation of EVSE equipment in communities, again, across residential, commercial, or public spaces. Those contractors will have a broad understanding of the industry and not only be technically proficient, but also well-versed in the nuances of different vehicles, what the customers are looking for, utility programs, et cetera.

So it's a great foundation to look for. And we certainly would be happy to collaborate with you on local market events. And just let us know how we can help support what you're doing. Bernie.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Yes. Thanks, Jen. Just to follow up on what Jen has said, we feel very strongly that this program has a number of benefits. And, of course, it has a national, and even an international, benefit to the success of electric vehicles and plug-in vehicles around the country and beyond.

But on a local level, I'm sure that all the Clean Cities coordinators and others who are on the line are very concerned about the success of plug-in electric vehicles in their local areas. And what we have found, and the feedback we're getting, is that the quality of the installation, the performance, and the safety—and I'm echoing some things that Linda Bluestein said earlier—are really critical to the success of these vehicles in the local market as well as in the broader markets.

And the feedback has been really terrific. That folks who are working with EVITP who are trained, and have that certification, are performing exceptionally well. We're getting the quality installations and the safe installations that everybody wants to see happen to make the EV industry more successful. And to bring those clean vehicles into our urban environments and in our country as a whole.

So I think we are all set now. Jennifer, is there anything else you wanted to say?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: No. Linda, we'll turn it back over to you.

LINDA BLUESTEIN: Thanks very much for the discussion on this. We did have some questions come in over the Web. Sandra, would you like to read those and see if we can get some answers? I think maybe some of them are for us to answer about locations of things on the Web and some other issues.

SANDRA LOI: Okay. Yes. I can read off some of these and have you all; we can start with the Web ones. The first one I have here is from Vern Crady. The question: is the delay for EV permitting is the inspection process?

Some have suggested spot inspections to solve this. And how does the template address expediting the permitting process?

LINDA BLUESTEIN: Mike, maybe you can address that?

MIKE SIMPSON: Yes. I'm sorry. So this inspection process definitely is, you know, it can take some time. And what we've seen is that, while the inspections are often unavoidable, and it's quite honestly, it can be a very good thing.

Certainly if there is not tight regulations around who the electricians are doing this work; you need to have that inspection to back that up. And so, what the template does address is that, is the opportunity to provide that approval by a licensed electrician. And in some jurisdictions, there is enough trust in that licensing to go through without the inspection before operation.

There are also some cases, and really what we have behind this is a set of case studies. It's not so much detailed in the template, as it is dependent on the jurisdiction requirements. So we'd be able to follow up with you, but there are some case studies available on the AFDC that go into some of these other situations.

And there's also certain locations where they have streamlined the entire process to 48 hours—with inspection included. And it's really a matter of who the inspectors are; how many of them there are available. And those are the things that are generally handled by the jurisdiction. And, quite honestly, are in place for many, many other pieces of equipment. I hope that answers the question. Unfortunately, there isn't much of an answer.

LINDA BLUESTEIN: Okay. Great. Thank you, Mike.

SANDRA LOI: Another question from Joel Pointon. I think for the EVITP folks. Does EVITP cover multi-unit dwelling scenarios?

BERNIE KOTLIER: Jen. Would you like me to take that?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Yes, please. Thank you.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Yes, absolutely it does. EVITP training covers all facets across the spectrum of different building types. From single family residential to multi-unit, to small commercial, large commercial, and industrial, institutional. Every type of facility.

But specifically, as far as your question goes on multi-unit, it's a coincidence you should ask that because Pacific Gas & Electric, which is the largest utility in California, one of the largest in the country, just asked EVITP to be its subject matter expert and to help them write their guidebook for the installation of EV infrastructure in multi-unit dwellings.

SANDRA LOI: All right. Thank you. And another question for you folks from Margaret Larson. Is EVITP the preferred training program for EVSE installers? Are there others? Do you expect it to become standard in the U.S. or in any state?

And also a third part to this question. It looks like Hawaii is in Q3. She is the coordinator out in our Hawaii Clean Cities coalition. And she states, "I'm aware that we do have one individual from the IBEW who attended a master training course. Why is Hawaii then in Q3?"

JENNIFER MEFFORD: If Hawaii is represented in Q3, Hawaii does have a master train-the-trainer. And they are actually holding a course right now for contractors and electricians that's in process.

So I apologize if it was not represented accurately. I'll have to take a look at that. There are contractors going through EVITP training right now as we speak. They started the last week in May, and they will be completed with their training by the end of June.

SANDRA LOI: Great. And the other sort of the beginning part of that question was: is EVITP the preferred training program for EVSE installers or are there others? And, do you expect it to become standard in the U.S., or any particular state?

BERNIE KOTLIER: Well, that would be sort of a self-serving question for us to answer. Maybe I should turn that over to Linda Bluestein and get her assessment.

LINDA BLUESTEIN: Well, I can't say it's the only one out there. I know that there are other training programs. I don't know that they do exactly what EVITP does.

I do know that, since they're rolling this out in many states and they have a lot of training centers, and they're working with master electricians, and they have vocational training centers in community colleges all over the United States, it's quite prevalent. Saying that, though, we don't endorse their educational program, but we think it's interesting.

And we certainly see it as being a very good example of the type of training that we think electricians should be getting out there. To make sure to maximize the customer experience, and make sure that we have safe and competent installers. So you know, I have to say we support this type of training and others who would provide this type of training as well.

I had personally the chance to go and watch the master class that was being taught in Chicago. And I can tell you they do a very thorough job in making sure that the electricians are very well-trained and competent from the standpoint of calculating out what they need to do regarding load in the building.

And, in addition to that, what is needed to bring the building up to code. And also, address the safety of electric vehicle infrastructure and electric vehicles being charged at home. So you know, I can say we generally think that this type of education is good. This isn't the only one out there. We recognize that. We aren't trying to personally endorse it.

But, it is going to be out there in a large way and we do feel confident the type of training offered would be, you know, good place for communities to get their training. And people should know about this particular program as well as others in the future. And we thank EVITP participants and Jennifer and Bernie for all they have done.

They are a nonprofit. They haven't gotten funding from us to do this; or I think anybody else. So you know, this is definitely something that is necessary. And, you know, we support activities like this.

SANDRA LOI: Great. Thank you. We have another question for Bernie and Jennifer from Mike Moore. The question is: how does a utility get a list of trained electricians in our state? And, how can we partner in training events?

BERNIE KOTLIER: Well, I think the answer to that, is, we are already working with a number of utilities around the country and we'd love to work with every utility and any other organization that's involved in the industry.

Our contact information is there. So if anyone on the call would like to contact us by e-mail or phone, we would be more than happy to work with you. And help you identify the training locations, how we can bring your, particularly in the sense and case of utility, how we can bring utility policies, or rate structures, or any other helpful information, into the local curriculum that is taught with EVITP. Jen, you want to add anything to that?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: No. The training events that we've had now, one of the greatest things is when there is local utility representation as part of the training. As a guest speaker to come in and really talk about what are the issues and what are the initiatives frankly from the local utility.

It does obviously vary wildly by market and region, but we have had some strong representation in both California and Detroit at training events from utility companies. And it's very interesting information for the electricians going through the program.

And again, going back to that customer experience. They need to understand if there are incentives, rebates, et cetera, available through the utility, separate metering issues, time-of-use rates. B Because oftentimes those customers, even though they may have heard that information or gone to a website for the utility, or been talked through it, through a program management company from an automaker, they will still ask the electrician.

So we welcome that. And please do contact us and we can hook you up with a training event in your area. And hopefully you can offer some content for us. It'd be great.

SANDRA LOI: There was another question. I just want to throw it out to you and then maybe open up the phone lines. There was a question about how to get information on class schedules for the training program.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Jen.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Yes. I think the easiest thing to do is just to shoot us an e-mail. And again, both of our information, e-mail and phone, are up on the screen. And we will take a look at your market and take a look at the state and see where within that state there is an event that is planned in the coming months.

It's been fast and furious. Just to think that even 5 weeks ago, 5–6 weeks ago, we were in Chicago training our first master instructors. So events are being planned and put on a schedule literally every couple of days. So the easiest way to get that timely information for your area is just to shoot us an e-mail, and we'll let you know what's on the schedule.

SANDRA LOI: Great. Thank you so much. Linda, should we go ahead and open up the phone lines for some phone questions?

LINDA BLUESTEIN: Absolutely.

SANDRA LOI: Okay. Great. Tory, can we go ahead and open up the lines for some questions?

COORDINATOR: Yes, thank you. If you'd like to ask a question at this time, please press star, then one, and record your name at the prompt. Please unmute your line when you record your name.

To withdraw your question from the phone lines, please press star, then two. Once again, for any phone questions, it's star one. One moment for our first question. Our first question from Brad Groders.

BRAD GRODERS: I'd like to thank you guys for putting this together. I mean, it's a very important issue and a discussion we need to be having. My question is focused around jobs.

And a lot of it is going to be focusing on whether the EVs get the support they need from the federal government to hit critical mass. Or will we get 1 million on the road by 2015, like President Obama's proposal? Has the EVITP looked at a target number of how many certified installers they are trying to generate? And, how long do you think it'll take to hit that number?

BERNIE KOTLIER: This is really a question I think that goes back to a slide that Jen covered on the demand and response of the market and our training. So I'll turn it back to Jennifer.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: You know, the best measurement that we have at this point is really the feedback that we're getting from the automakers that we talk to about production numbers and volumes.

We're looking at those by market, where they're seeing the clustering of cars or the highest concentration of cars going in at this point, and where they're initially looking ahead. And right now, that looking ahead may only be 90 days ahead of where they feel those orders are going to ramp up. So it's not a science by any means.

But typically, in a market the size of Detroit, for example, if we have 5–10 contractors with EVITP certification, that's probably enough right now. There are only 300 charging stations in this market. So for us to prepare 300 contractors just doesn't make sense. So I think it's a balancing act. And I think, again, it's something that we're going to look to EVITP partners for their guidance on how many installers that we need.

You know, it's a, we are not for profit. So it isn't a model where we want to push as many people through as possible to generate funding from a training registration. It's really more about meeting the needs of the market. And we're going to have to just see how it goes.

So our intentions are to use that Detroit model. The higher level concentration in populated areas, and then less populated will need, obviously, something that mirrors what that market demand is. But it's a little early to tell.

BERNIE KOTLIER: And Jennifer, if I could add to that. I think another aspect of your question may relate to the capability of the scalability of this training. And that is something that's very available.

And we can scale this training up because the structure of the training, as we noted, was to train over 50 master instructors who are all around the country. Who have the ability to train additional instructors and they are doing that. And then to hold classes. There are community colleges all over the country and electrical training centers all around the country in every state who can ramp up this training relatively quickly.

So if the question is, can we train enough electricians to install EVSE supply equipment or charging stations, if you will, in every state, and to supply 1 million, or 2, or 3 million cars, the answer is yes. We can do it. But as Jennifer has said, we will do it as the demand determines the need.

BRAD GRODERS: Thank you very much.

COORDINATOR: Our next question from Hope Bleacher.

HOPE BLEACHER: Hi. I was just wondering if you could perhaps show the link again to the permit that was discussed in the first portion of the presentation?

MIKE SIMPSON: Yes. Unfortunately, the template itself is not posted right now. We expect to have that available later this week and Sandra will be sending out a link to that when it is available. So I do apologize for that, but due to some technical difficulties. But, we will have it up as soon as possible.

HOPE BLEACHER: Okay. Thank you.

COORDINATOR: Our next question from Bill Sheaffer.

BILL SHEAFFER: Hi. You just answered a couple. Is Ecotality a partner of yours on either side?

BERNIE KOTLIER: Yes. As a matter of fact, they are the newest member; having just joined in the last few days.

BILL SHEAFFER: Okay. And just, we didn't have it up on the screen. Is SRP and APS, are they participating members at this time? Utilities.

BERNIE KOTLIER: SRP. I'm not familiar with that acronym. Could you explain it, please?

BILL SHEAFFER: Yes. That's Salt River Project. And APS, Arizona Public Service. Are two utilities.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Yes. I don't believe that they are members yet but they are welcome. And if you're connected with them, or have contacts there, and you'd like to refer them to us, we'd be happy to have them join.

BILL SHEAFFER: Yes. Both are on our board, so we will make a recommendation.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Excellent. Thank you.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Wonderful.

COORDINATOR: Our next question from Jill Sorenson.

JILL SORENSON: Hi. Does your training address signage?

BERNIE KOTLIER: Jen.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: You know, that is a great question. That is a great question. And specifically we talk about in phase one, we talk about signage. We talk about ADA compliance. We talk about some of the things that are still being discussed.

And I think that's a topic that we need to dive much more heavily into for phase two. I don't know about each individual market on the phone, but in Michigan, our public service commission is just now starting to really talk about things like signage and signing standards and uniformity in that. So we do talk about it, but not in depth. And certainly we would plan to in the future.

JILL SORENSON: Okay. Thank you.

COORDINATOR: Once again, to ask a question, star one. And our next question from Dan Gross.

DAN GROSS: Hello. My question is: does your training cover grid load and load that, you know, the utility companies would be interested in? In the sense that there are these stations are going to put a significant drain on grids, particularly in the air conditioning season?

BERNIE KOTLIER: Yes. I can start talking about that and I'll let Jennifer comment as well. But absolutely, it's one of the most critical aspects of the EVITP curriculum. Utilities have been members since the founding of EVITP.

And our concern, and their concern, is, with loading the grid in both the macro aspect and the local aspect. We're concerned about what happens to local transformers, as well as we are about total load in the grid in a city, or a state, or a region. And one of the key elements to that is that, in our training, we emphasize the importance of working with the utility from the planning stages of the project.

Not just from the installation, but from planning. That, as soon as a customer contacts the contractor, that the contractor then informs the utility, and that the utility and the contractor can work together to plan for that additional load. And the contractor will know up front if that load is going to pose any additional stress on either a local transformer or on the grid.

So absolutely, it's critical. It's taught in a number of places in the curriculum. Jen, did you have anything?

DAN GROSS: Thanks, Bernie.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: No. That was great, Bernie. Thank you.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Okay.

COORDINATOR: Once again for any questions; star one. One moment for our next set of questions. Our next question from Rudy Garcia.

RUDY GARCIA: Yes. Hi. What is the website for EVITP?

BERNIE KOTLIER: Jen.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: We are currently working with NREL and DOE on building the site, building some pages within their site, which I do expect will be up and accessible in the next 30 days.

And at this point, we do not have a standalone site, but we will be using that one. And, as soon as we get that up and running, we will absolutely get the URL out to you through Linda and her communication channels.

RUDY GARCIA: So in terms of becoming a member of the organization, how does that get accomplished now?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: You know, just send us an e-mail. We have information about the program, partner lists, and several things that you could and an affirmation document, which is confirm a new partner.

RUDY GARCIA: Okay.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: So just shoot me an e-mail and we'll send you everything that we have. And that's how it's functioning at this moment.

RUDY GARCIA: What's that e-mail address?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: E-mail me at jmevitp@gmail.com.

RUDY GARCIA: Okay. Thank you very much.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: You bet.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Yes. And if I could add to that. Some folks may be wondering why is this organization, which is represented in so many states and doing all this work, why doesn't it have a website?

And I just wanted to reemphasize the point that everything that has been done with, and for, and by, the members of EVITP has been done on a pro bono, all volunteer basis. We have absolutely zero budget, and not a penny of funds to create things that cost money or create a regular cost, or regular monthly cost that we might have to support.

So we're very grateful to the Department of Energy, and Clean Cities, and NREL, for working with us to make Web pages available. Because that's just the nature of our structure, is we don't have the budget to do that separately in terms of a free standing website.

SANDRA LOI: Tory, do we have any additional questions on the line?

COORDINATOR: Yes, thank you. The next from Brad Groders.

BRAD GRODERS: Yes. One last thing real quick. I'm actually not online and I hear a bunch of people are referring back to the slides. Are we going to be sent a copy of those via e-mail through registering for the webinar? Or is that something we'd have to reach out in a separate channel to obtain?

SANDRA LOI: This is Sandra Loi. I'm the one that's been at NREL. I've been sending out all the webinar information details. We do post the webinar archives presentations and also the video of this presentation will be in the webinar archives on our Clean Cities Web page.

So if you go to cleancities.energy.gov, and go into our webinar archives, you can search for it. We'll be posting them up within the next week or so. But if you do need the slides sooner, feel free to contact me and I'm happy to send it to you in advance.

BRAD GRODERS: And what was your name again? I'm sorry.

SANDRA LOI: Sandra Loi, L-O-I.

BRAD GRODERS: And do you have an e-mail, or?

SANDRA LOI: You can contact me at Sandra.loi@nrel.gov.

BRAD GRODERS: Thank you very much.

SANDRA LOI: Sure. No problem.

COORDINATOR: Our next question from Mike Moore.

MIKE MOORE: Hi. You know, one of the questions I had is, as you put on these training sessions, how does that get paid for? How is that covered? Do the electricians pay? Is there a fee structure in place? How does all that work?

BERNIE KOTLIER: The training is paid for by the participants. For instance, in a community college environment, they would enroll for the class and pay the standard fee, whatever it might be.

In California, the fees are very low. California community colleges used to be completely free. There are some small fees now and it would vary around the country depending on the institution, what their local cost would be for the class. So it's really up to the local institution. But generally it's very, very, low or little.

And it's being taught at this point. All the institutions that are teaching EVITP are nonprofit institutions.

SANDRA LOI: Tory, any additional questions?

COORDINATOR: Yes. We do have one more question from Jerry Damner.

JERRY DAMNER: Hi there. Thanks very much for the program today. I'm working with fleet directors around the country to help them in the deployment of electric trucks into their fleets.

And I'm curious whether anyone on the panel can lend some information on progress that perhaps is being made on selecting a standard such as the J1772 for electric charging interface, for Level 3, for truck applications.

MIKE SIMPSON: This is Mike Simpson. I imagine the EVITP folks may have something to add here. I know that, you know, certainly it is a little behind or the industry is a little behind getting a standard for the medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

I'm aware that SAE, the Society of Automotive Engineers, is working on a similar standard. And right now there are a few basic, there are some options for folks interested. Certainly there are already charging solutions available. But for the same sort of safety and standardized options, right now I know some fleets are working directly with the EVSE suppliers to get a J1772 connector fitted on there, which will go up to 20 kilowatts by definition. But, beyond that, there's, it's basically a work in progress.

JERRY DAMNER: Very good. Thank you.

COORDINATOR: We do have another question from Joel Pointon.

JOEL POINTON: Hi. I just wanted to make a comment on the previous question. One clarification. Level 3 is an incorrect term to use for DC fast charge. Presently, the SAE is looking at three levels of AC charging and three levels of what is being referred to as DC fast charging.

What is coming to market presently on the Leaf and at the end of the year on the Mitsubishi is actually Level 2 of DC fast charge. So there is kind of a hang over from the terminology from the 1990s that was adopted, that is no longer correct relative to the SAE work that is presently going on. The issue on DC fast charge will be taken up again next week at the Electric Power Research Institute's infrastructure working council meetings in Detroit.

But presently, that work is focused on the light-duty vehicles and does not include trucks.

MIKE SIMPSON: Thank you for that detail, Joel.

COORDINATOR: And we do have a question from Harold North.

HAROLD NORTH: Yes. I had a comment first of all. I think Jennifer was saying that the number of electricians needed would be based on sales projections, is that correct?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: It's really one of the only metrics that we have at this point. But you know, so we are really trying to work with the partners to get an idea of what they're seeing and feeling. And, you know, to ramp up accordingly.

HAROLD NORTH: Okay. What we're trying to do in our state is to promote the use of electric vehicles. So we're looking at putting in charging stations in certain areas of our state where we encourage people to go out and buy electric vehicles. So that concerned me somewhat.

Then I do have one more question. Are you guys working with organizations such as NFPA?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Yes.

HAROLD NORTH: So the first responders that are ¬responding to some of these accidents involving electrical vehicles? Do they go through some kind of a training process for safety?

JENNIFER MEFFORD: NFPA is a member of EVITP.

HAROLD NORTH: Great.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: And they contributed our first responder section of our curriculum. So it supports all of the independent training events that they're having, as well on their own. And we have a very open dialogue with NFPA.

HAROLD NORTH: All right. Thank you very much.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Yes. My comment about the ramping up of electricians is really—and Bernie talked about—scalability. At any point that we see an increase in demand, we can start training people in higher quantities at any time.

The infrastructure for training is in place. Our concern is that we don't over prepare the market with vehicles that haven't arrived or infrastructure that hasn't come yet.

HAROLD NORTH: Okay. Yes. Well, our concern is it's kind of the chicken and egg syndrome.

JENNIFER MEFFORD: Yes. Sure.

HAROLD NORTH: We have a lot of people out there that are a little hesitant about buying electrical vehicles just because there are no charging stations available. So we want to promote that out there.

BERNIE KOTLIER: Harold, what state are you in?

HAROLD NORTH: Arkansas.

BERNIE KOTLIER: In Arkansas. Well, as Jennifer noted, we are responding to the partners. And the partners include utilities and state agencies as well as auto manufacturers and EVSE makers and the electrical inspectors. And so many different members of the EV industry community.

And we would love to have your state agency. I don't know who you represent, whether it's a utility, or state agency, or whatever. We'd love to have you as a partner. You're welcome to join and give us that input. And to the extent that you need more EVITP-certified electricians in Arkansas, that can probably be done in relatively short time.

The course is 24–30 hours, so it only takes a few months to ramp up and produce the numbers that you might need. So if you'd like to send Jennifer or me an e-mail with that information, if you'd like to join, we welcome your participation.

HAROLD NORTH: I appreciate the invite.

COORDINATOR: We also have a question from John McMillan.

JOHN MCMILLAN: Hi. This is John McMillan from EPA region 9. I had a question. Both, actually two related questions for Mike Simpson and NREL regarding the EVSE permitting template.

And specifically, I was wondering if the template would be applicable to commercial fleet facilities rather than just residential, but for commercial fleet installations of multiple level two AC chargers, or the like? And then, also, I had a related question regarding the applicability of the template in its potential reduction for installation costs.

As I'm sure you're aware, the variance for installation costs is pretty broad. And I'm wondering if there was more certainty regarding the timeline if we might see those costs normalize a little bit?

MIKE SIMPSON: Okay. So I'll remember the question on the cost. But to start with, the applicability for commercial installation is not directly pertinent just because the goal of this was to focus on residential applications.

That said, being that this is really a document that contained a lot of generalities and does contain the bare minimum of requirements, it can be used as a foundation and certainly would encourage it. I know that just as zoning indicates different requirements for construction of commercial facilities versus residential facilities, the same is going to hold true for the electrical work done there.

And possibly the EVITP folks would have something to comment on that as well. But, essentially, it would be a starting place and I would recommend using the resources available. Take this off the AFDC when it is available. Take a look through it, let us know if you have more questions, and we can try to address those on more of a case-by-case basis.

On the cost question, the installation cost really does vary significantly as you mentioned. And a lot of the variability in that cost comes from the unique situations that occur at every single installation. And that's from the fact that the location of electrical panels is unique in many homes. Some jurisdictions standardize it, but, in general, it's not always near the garage if it's even you know, on that side of the house.

So there is wiring distances and that wiring includes copper price; that's governed by copper prices. I could go on and on about the different variabilities here. I think where this does have an opportunity to help pricing be on at least a little bit more of a level playing field is that it does lay out the requirements so that and gives the consumer some information. If not the other folks involved in this value chain.

The information of what really is needed so that you can get the right people out there doing the job and avoid some issues. You have where someone may claim to be knowledgeable and possibly even claim to be an electrician. But, if they're not licensed and approved to be doing this, you should be able to pick up on that after reading through this template and some of the guidelines we have listed in a checklist that will be accompanying it.

So I hope that answers your question. But unfortunately, there is not really going to be a nailing down of these costs of installation at this point.

JOHN MCMILLAN: Thanks Mike.

COORDINATOR: At this time I'm showing no questions.

SANDRA LOI: Linda, did you have any closing remarks for today?

LINDA BLUESTEIN: No. I guess you covered that you will have this information posted on the cleancities.energy.gov website.

SANDRA LOI: Absolutely.

LINDA BLUESTEIN: And I guess the only other thing would be the location again of, if we could maybe put on that website too, the copy of the model permit. Or you could give people the link to that. That would be great.

And then I think we'll be ready to go and we will also be looking forward to hosting another one of these in 3 months. So we'll let you know ahead of time what we're planning to do and what the agenda is. And look forward to talking to you over the next 3 months and getting any feedback on these webinars that you have.

Or if you have further questions, please feel free to e-mail myself or Sandra Loi at NREL, and we'll see how we can take care of your questions. Thank you very much, everybody. And, Sandra, if you want to repeat the website link, that would be really helpful.

SANDRA LOI: Sure. You can visit cleancities.energy.gov for more information or feel free again to e-mail me directly: sandra.loi@nrel.gov. And I'm happy to provide you with a link to the archive presentation, as well as the template, once we have it posted up on the website. Thank you.

COORDINATOR: Thank you for participating on today's conference. You may disconnect at this time.