victorian electric vehicle trial mid-term report - Department of Transport

3. Site works planning – thecharging infrastructure provideris introduced to the potential hostand a site visit arranged – thisis the start date for assessmentof the installation leadtime;the site visit kicks the projectoff and includes a preliminarysurvey of options informed by allparties; the corporate participantidentifies their preferred locationtaking initial advice into account;example content is supplied tothe corporate participant fordeliberation on the signage/ground-marking for the site, andthe plan for manufacture andinstallation agreed; the worksplan is formalised betweenparties and signed-off througha works approval/work orderprocess; this step was found tobe lengthy due to the need tonegotiate agreement with multiplestakeholders for reasons that areexplained further below4. Site works – installer arrangesa site visit to undertake theinstallation as per the agreedworks plan; the host prepares thesite by ensuring that it is cordonedoff for the duration of the works;charging station commissionedinto service; signage and groundmarkingis delivered/installed asper the works plan agreement5. Handover – an OH&S reviewmay be undertaken of the site;instruction on the arrangementsfor the site/equipment operationis provided to staff on the groundif required; a launch eventand/or other communicationsare kicked off as part of theservice promotion and benefitsrealisation; Department notifiedonce the site can be advertisedto trial participants as beingavailable for use – this is thefinish date for assessment ofthe installation leadtime6. Operation – Department/corporate participant receivesinvoice/actions payment; chargingactivity commences; data gatheredthrough telemetry link to networkoperating centre; various surveysof users/stakeholders initiated toassess awareness/understanding/acceptance of the charging facility;management of site undertakenas part of broader enforcementprogram; collective evaluation ofsite performance against predeterminedtargets undertaken atagreed milestones; arrangementsat completion of trial implementedbased upon host agreement.The contract negotiation (step 2) hasbeen by far the most challenging andlongest leadtime aspect of the publiccharging infrastructure roll-out. On thepart of the hosts there is a desire tonot cede ownership of any commercialbenefits to the charging serviceprovider. From a legal perspective,the uncertainty and perceived risks indealing with a new concept such aselectric vehicle charging translate to anunwillingness by the host legal team toaccept liabilities regardless of howeverreasonable. Despite the formerDepartment of Transport acting as an‘honest broker’ in these negotiationsand underwriting the cost and riskissues, the majority of negotiationswith portfolio-level property ownersbroke down at this stage. In the caseof one large property asset investmentgroup who have majority interests insome of Melbourne’s most prominentshopping centres, negotiations havebeen stuck in this stage for nearly14 months as of January 2013 despitethere being an expressed desire fromsenior management to participatein the trial and host electric vehiclecharging services.The site works planning (step 3) wasby far the greatest contributor tothe lengthy leadtime that has beenquantified above. The main issue wasthe handover between the corporatelevelproject supporters and thoseon the ground who own the detaileddecision-making. By way of example, alarge property investment firm enteredinto an agreement to participate asa charging infrastructure host at acorporate level, following which anew round of negotiations commencedwith the individual site managers.The site manager resistance isgenerally related to the opportunitycost associated with assignmentof the parking asset exclusively forEV parking/charging. Institutionalfailures in transferring decisionsbetween the strategic and operationalarms of the organisation are alsovery common, insofar as therebeing no support to ensure that thecorporate-level agreement progressesto implementation.The signage/ground-marking issuesdescribed in Section 5.3.2 for corporateproperties are also evident, howeverorganisations playing the role of ‘host’are generally of the view that thisforms part of the charging serviceprovider’s responsibilities.