The South Pasadena Police Department became the nation’s first law enforcement agency to completely replace its gasoline-powered vehicles with nonpolluting electric vehicles.
The city’s zero-emission police fleet of 20 new Teslas will rely on a bank of new electric vehicle chargers installed at South Pasadena City Hall. Additionally, upon completion of the final electrification project component, City Hall, the Police Station and the Fire Station buildings will be backed up by a solar powered system with battery storage adding critical power resilience in the event of an outage.
“This transition reflects the city’s vision of a sustainable future based on both sound fiscal management and environmental stewardship,” said South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer. “The City Council is fully behind this transition. We will have a 21st Century police force that is safe, clean and saves taxpayer dollars. We’re very excited to be working with our regional and corporate partners to make this happen.”
The move points to a new paradigm for police organizations, which traditionally have been reluctant to move from gasoline to electric vehicles due to concerns about range, potential inability to charge when the grid goes down, and worries that the technology is new and unproven. Now, that’s changed.
According to City staff reports, the transition is expected to save about $4,000 a year per vehicle on energy costs, plus provide additional savings on maintenance, such as brakes, oil changes, air filters, and more. Overall, according to Solinsky, the operational cost of electric vehicles will be at least half the per-mile cost of gasolinepowered vehicles.
Working with partners to identify the right cars for the right price was critical to this effort, “An organization’s fleet can be a clear indication of its values and priorities, and South Pasadena’s strategy emphasizes its dedication to sustainability and innovation,” said Enterprise Fleet Management Vice President, Southern California, John Mills. “We are proud to help South Pasadena adopt an all-electric police fleet that better reflects its objectives and saves costs along the way. This program sets a high standard for other municipalities across the country.”
To make the switch, Enterprise Fleet Management assisted the city in acquiring 10 Tesla Model Ys as patrol vehicles and 10 Tesla Model 3s for detective and administrative duties. The cars were up-fitted for patrol and administrative police use through Unplugged Performance’s UP.FIT division.
All the vehicles have 5-star safety ratings—better than any gas vehicle available for policing—which means the city’s officers will be as safe as possible in the field, according to Solinsky.
In addition to the advanced technology and performance, the visual presentation of the new fleet has also been enhanced. Each vehicle’s sleek and modern graphics were designed by Anyone Collective, ensuring that the fleet’s visual impact matches its cutting-edge capabilities.
City officials noted that any successful shift to electric transportation requires that the charging infrastructure go hand-in-hand with vehicle acquisition.
A key component of the project was the construction of 34 chargers at South Pasadena City Hall. Under its Charge Ready program, Southern California Edison upgraded its local distribution system to supply the higher level of power needed to energize the vehicles and installed the underground wiring needed to install the chargers.
“Southern California Edison is committed to enabling California’s efforts to achieve a clean energy future and improve air quality in the communities we serve,” said Jill C. Anderson, executive vice president and COO for SCE. “We are excited to help the city of South Pasadena expand and prepare the local grid to charge its new police fleet through our Charge Ready program. This program helps by providing financial incentives, infrastructure and technical support to facilitate the installation of EV charging stations. We want to thank all those involved in this project who are helping to lead the way to a clean energy future.”
