The South Pasadena Police Department became the first in the nation this week to completely replace its gas-powered vehicles with fully electric ones, the small city of about 26,000 people announced July 29.
“The City Council is fully behind this transition. We will have a 21st century police force that is safe, clean and saves taxpayer dollars,” Mayor Evelyn Zneimer said in the press release.
The police force will now rely on 20 new Teslas and 34 new charging stations. A solar-powered system with battery storage will also be installed to serve City Hall and the police and fire stations, the press release said.
The new vehicles were provided thanks to city, regional and corporate partnerships, with Councilman Michael Cacciotti, who also serves as vice chair of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), spearheading the switch.
“We have been working on this for over a decade. We finally got it right, and the future for municipalities across the country is clear. Partnering is the way to get big ideas done. Our city is helping to make that a reality today,” he said in the announcement.
The transition was made possible in part thanks to $500,000 from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), an AQMD panel made up of local government officials with a mission to reduce air pollution from vehicles.
It also marks a milestone for police, who have been reluctant to switch from traditional gas-powered vehicles, said the announcement.
“This initiative not only ensures the safest vehicles for officers and staff but also leads to substantial reductions in both fuel and maintenance costs,” South Pasadena Police Chief Brian Solinsky said.
He added that gas-powered vehicles usually require more maintenance, which results in downtime that the Teslas will not incur.
The transition should save about $4,000 yearly per vehicle on energy costs, according to a city staff report, plus other maintenance savings on brakes, oil changes, and air filters, among other things, according to the announcement. Overall, operating costs of the new vehicles should be about half those of the gas-powered cars, Mr. Solinsky said.
Enterprise Fleet Management helped in the acquisition of the cars, which include 10 Tesla Model Y pursuit vehicles and 10 Tesla Model 3 administrative vehicles. The cars were fitted with safety and performance upgrades, according to the press release.
Unplugged Performance, which specializes in Tesla sports performance and customization, worked with the Police Department in developing the vehicles.
The vehicles all have five-star safety ratings, unrivaled by any gas-powered police vehicles, according to the police chief.
Southern California Edison (SCE) kicked in $530,000 worth of work on the EV charger installations. The company upgraded its distribution system to accommodate the higher level of power needed to charge the vehicles, according to the city.
The transition offers several environmental benefits, according to Councilman Cacciotti, including cutting emissions of nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Gas-powered police vehicles idle frequently to keep lights, radios, and other emergency equipment running, making them large polluters, he said.
“This is important, particularly in the Los Angeles area, which still has the most unhealthful air in the nation,” he said. “We hope other police departments in the region and state will make the switch too.”
The city’s net cost for the switch totals around $1.85 million but thanks to its partnerships, more than half of that has been covered, according to the city.
Another partner was Clean Power Alliance—a Los Angeles- and Ventura-based clean electricity provider—which supplied the free solar and battery storage system.
