Good afternoon - On July 5, FDOT conducted a webinar to present its DRAFT National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Plan<https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/planning/policy/florida's-evidp_2022-07-05_draft.pdf?sfvrsn=7ada4497_2> (attached also), which it plans to submit to the feds by the August 1 deadline.  FDOT's PowerPoint<https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/planning/policy/electric-vehicle/nevi-public-comment-webinar-presentaton.pdf?sfvrsn=9dc99fb1_2> from the webinar, along with an audio recording and other materials, can be accessed at FDOT's NEVI website<https://www.fdot.gov/planning/policy/ev/electric-vehicle-infrastructure-funding#:~:text=The%20National%20Electric%20Vehicle%20Infrastructure%20%28NEVI%29%20Program%20is,Program%20that%20was%20released%20on%20February%2010%2C%202022.>.  Of note from the webinar, FDOT plans to hold an industry forum this fall to discuss the procurement process for stakeholder EV infrastructure projects.  It is FDOT's intention to make the procurement process both competitive and transparent.  We will let you know when and where the industry forum will be held and we urge any of you that are interested in pursuing EV charging infrastructure projects along the designated corridors to attend this forum.  There may be other stakeholder meetings that you may be interested in attending so we suggest you contact April Combs with FDOT:  April.Combs@dot.state.fl.us<mailto:April.Combs@dot.state.fl.us>  and ask to be put on her listserv for future correspondence.

With the assistance of Seminole and PowerSouth (thank you!), FECA filed comments on the draft FDOT NEVI plan (see below) as we felt that the Plan's depiction of  Florida's electric cooperatives did not accurately reflect or describe who we really are.  In addition, Okefenoke EMC was inadvertently left off the co-op map.  You can see the comments that we filed below.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Michelle Hershel
Director of Regulatory Affairs
Florida Electric Cooperatives Assoc.
2916 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL  32301
Cell:  (850) 510-1693
(850)877-6166, ext. 3

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From: Michelle Hershel
Sent: Thursday, July 7, 2022 12:56 PM
To: 'April.Combs@dot.state.fl.us' <April.Combs@dot.state.fl.us>
Subject: Comments from Florida Electric Cooperatives Association to FDOT NEVI Draft Plan

Good afternoon April - thank you for your hard work at creating the draft of Florida's Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan!  The Florida Electric Cooperatives Association (FECA) and its member-cooperatives look forward to working with FDOT and others as Florida implements the NEVI.  FECA has two suggested edits to the documents relating specifically to electric cooperatives.

First, we would like to replace the language describing Florida's electric cooperatives (paragraph which starts at the bottom of page 13 and ends at the top of page 14 (highlighted in the attached version of the Plan)) with the following language:

"Florida electric cooperatives are not-for-profit electric utilities that are owned by the members they serve, and provide safe, affordable and reliable electric service to their consumer-members. Each cooperative is governed by a board of trustees that is elected by the membership. This form of governance and ownership has served the cooperatives well for over 80 years.   Florida has 16 distribution cooperatives and 2 generation and transmission cooperatives that collectively employ more than 2,500 Floridians. Electric cooperatives provide reliable and affordable electricity to more than 2.7 million Floridians in 57 of Florida's 67 counties. While electric cooperatives only serve approximately 10% of Florida's population, their service territory covers more than 60% of Florida's land mass. As such, Florida's electric cooperatives play a unique role in providing electric service and economic development to some of the most rural and economically challenged regions of the state."

Second, Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Corporation was not included Figure 11 on page 15.  Please add them to the co-op list and on to the map- I have attached a map showing where OREMC is located- see the upper right hand corner of the peninsula.  OREMC provides electric service to members in both Florida and Georgia.

Thank you again for formulating this Plan that will hopefully allow for a robust deployment of EV charging stations and infrastructure throughout Florida.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Michelle Hershel
Director of Regulatory Affairs
Florida Electric Cooperatives Assoc.
2916 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL  32301
Cell:  (850) 510-1693
(850)877-6166, ext. 3

NOTE: This e-mail is  intended solely for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed.  The contents of this email and any attachments are confidential. If you believe you received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately, delete the e-mail from your computer and do not copy or disclose it to anyone else. If you properly received this e-mail you should maintain its contents in confidence.