Electric Vehicle Charging Station RFP

October 30, 2023

Request for Proposals
To Sell, Operate and Maintain Two DC Fast Public 
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Winchester, Massachusetts

The Town is seeking proposals from third parties to sell DC Fast EV charging stations to the Town, and to operate and maintain those charging stations at no cost to the Town.

The Town seeks a public private partnership whereby the Town would purchase, and a third-party would operate and maintain, at its sole cost, electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the Jenks Center / Town Hall parking lot located at the intersection of Skillings Road and Mount Vernon Street in the Town of Winchester.

The Town will be responsible for costs and project coordination for all aspects of site selection, planning, engineering, construction, permitting, and installation of the electrical infrastructure and charging stations.

The Request for Proposals is available here. An addendum extending the deadline for questions and proposals is available here.

A pre-submission information session will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 3:00 pm. Pre-registration is required. To register for this Zoom meeting, click here.

All submittals must be provided no later than Monday, November 20, 2023 by 10:00 am.  Please submit separate, sealed price and non-price proposals.  One copy of each is all that is required.  

Written questions regarding the RFP should be sent via email to Ken Pruitt, Sustainability Director, kpruitt@winchester.us. All questions and the responses from the Town will be posted on this page, below.

Questions and Answers about this RFP:

Q: Are you specifically looking for CHAdeMo requirement?   This charger plug type is not used anymore as it was used on two early generation EV's no longer in production.
A: Yes, the charging stations must have CHAdeMO ports. This is a requirement of the Mass Department of Environmental Protection Electric Vehicle Incentive Program grant that is partially funding this project. There are still Nissan Leaf vehicles that use CHAdeMO connectors.

Q: I understand proposals are due November 20th, but did not see a date outlining construction/completion. Can you please provide me with some guidance on what the Town of Winchester desires in this aspect?
A: We would like to complete this project by June 30, 2024, but we technically have until the end of August, 2024. At present we hope to have site preparation complete by April 30, but exact timing will depend on when Eversource and their make ready contractor can bring in electrical service to the site. We are awaiting a start date from them. 

Q: May we submit a digital copy of our submission?
A: Yes

Q: We understand the contract as being the basis for negotiation. May we redline the contract presented by Winchester?
A: Not before the RFP deadline. The Town of Winchester plans to use responses to this RFP to select one or more companies with whom to enter negotiations to provide equipment and services. Once negotiations with the selected companies has commenced, the Town will entertain redlined versions of its standard contract as part of those negotiations.

Q: Is it possible for the application deadline to be pushed back by a week?
A: Yes, we will issue an addendum to the RFP today (November 6, 2023) extending the application deadline to Monday, November 27.

Q: Although it says Fast DC charger it's not specified what level, is it Level 2 fast DC charger?
A: Each charging port must be capable of independently providing 50 kW of charging power, even if both chargers are in simultaneous use.

Q: Does the scope of work also include installation and maintenance or just sale of EV charger ? (we do offer all services including site visit to final installation).
A: The scope of work includes the sale of two DC Fast EV charging ports and their operation and maintenance. It does not include installation. The Town of Winchester will be solely responsible for equipment installation.

Q: Will both Fast DC chargers be installed at the same location?
A: Yes, they will be installed at the head of two adjacent parking spaces as shown in the RFP, Appendix A.

Q: We are interested in deploying one 50kW station and one 100kW station. Will the town be open to this?
A: As stated in the RFP, each charging station port must supply a minimum of 50 kW, and our preference is for exactly 50 kW to minimize utility demand charges. However, proposals may include options for charging ports that deliver greater than 50 kW. At a minimum two 50 kW charging ports must be included in the proposal, but there can be additional ports proposed, as alternatives, that exceed 50 kW.

Q: We are prepared to pay for electricity. We would like to better understand how demand charges will be paid and/or passed on from the Town to the vendor.
A: It is the Town’s desire to contract with a firm that will pay the entirety of monthly utility bills, including demand charges.

Q: Does the this RFP need us to do installation as well or if this RFP is solely for the purchase of the charging stations and for a maintenance contract only - excluding installation?
A: The Town will be responsible for costs and project coordination for all aspects of site selection, planning, engineering, construction, permitting, and installation of the electrical infrastructure and charging stations.

Q: Is the $37,000 per port funding that you have available for purchase in addition to the EVIP funding you received, meaning there would be additional funds available from the Town?
A: No, the total funding awarded to the Town from Eversource and the MassDEP combined is $80,000, or $40,000 per port. After subtracting the cost of installation (we estimate $3,000 per port), that leaves $37,000 per port and there are no additional Town funds available.

Q: Do the DC fast EV charging stations need to be included on the MassEVIP / Eversource Qualified Equipment List?
A: Yes

Q: Will site maintenance, including snow removal, be handled by the Town?
A: Yes, the Town will be responsible for all site maintenance including snow removal, landscaping, and trash removal. The Partner will be responsible for all maintenance of the charging station equipment.

Q: Does the Town have any current thoughts about the revenue model in terms of pricing, such as whether the Partner could set pricing based on multiples of the cost of electricity (e.g. 1.5x or 2x the cost of electricity)?
A: No. The Town does not yet have any preconceived notions of how use of the charging stations by customers will be priced. Our goal is to ensure pricing is affordable enough that the charging stations enjoy high usage, while generating a satisfactory economic return to the Partner.

Q: What is the anticipated installation date for the charging stations? Has Eversource indicated when the make ready work will be complete?
A: The Town has not been provided with a specific installation date, but from conversations we have had with Eversource and its contractor Maverick Construction, we anticipate an installation date somewhere in the February to April time range.

Q: After the contract award, would the Partner be shipping the Town the charging stations to be warehoused until they can be installed?
A: Our preferred option would be for the Partner to keep the charging stations at their site until the Town is ready to install them, but if that is infeasible the Town could receive and warehouse them.