South Pasadena Justice - Electrified!

I don't reside in South Pasadena, but I do live about 200 feet from its border, so I do spend quite a bit of time there. South Pasadena has a small town feel so, with residential streets that have that middle-class "Anywhere USA" look, it's no wonder that so many movies have filmed scenes there, including "Halloween," "Step Brothers" and "Pee-wee's Big Adventure."

While I like the city very much, I've never really thought of it as being particularly trendsetting. That all changes now as the South Pasadena Police Department becomes the first in the nation to transition it's entire fleet to electric vehicles. I'm not really a proponent of EVs, but who doesn't love a first?

According to South Pasadena Councilmember and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Vice Chair Michael Cacciotti, one of the city's key motivations in moving to EVs was protecting public health and improving the environment. Cacciotti said it's something they've been working on for over a decade.

The city's zero-emission fleet consists of 20 newly leased Tesla vehicles, 10 Tesla Model Ys as patrol vehicles and 10 Tesla Model 3s for detective and administrative duties. The cars have been modified for police use, of course. They will rely on power from a bank of 34 chargers at South Pasadena City Hall. Upon completion of the city's electrification project, City Hall, the Police Station, and Fire Station buildings will be backed up by a solar powered system with battery storage to provide power in the event of an outage.

"Switching to these vehicles offers the Police Department the opportunity to acquire a cutting-edge vehicle fleet," said South Pasadena Police Chief Brian Solinsky. "This initiative not only ensures the safest vehicles for officers and staff but also leads to substantial reductions in both fuel and maintenance costs."

According to a press release from the city, the transition to EVs is expected to save approximately $4,000 a year per vehicle on energy costs, plus additional savings from reduced maintenance costs. Overall, the operational cost of the electric fleet is expected to be about half the per-mile cost of gas powered vehicles.

The city's net expense for the project is $1.85 million for lease payments and the cost of the EV chargers. More than half of the cost is being met by the city's project partners, Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, Southern California Edison's Charge Ready program and Clean Power Alliance's Power Ready Program.

Many police agencies have been hesitant to transition to EVs for a variety of reasons. Not just that the technology was new and unproven, but with regard for the same issues that any EV driver faces: range anxiety and inability to charge in the event of a power outage. 

This electrification of the South Pasadena Police Department may just be what it takes to get the ball - or Teslas - rolling for law enforcement agencies across the country as they move to fleets that are safe, clean, and economical.