A Maryland electric utility is launching a pilot program designed to help school districts overcome one of the biggest barriers to adopting electric school buses: Upfront costs.
The Maryland Public Service Commission approved a plan by Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy serving about 285,000 customers in Maryland, to implement an $11.1 million electric school bus pilot program. The initiative will help fund the deployment of up to 28 electric school buses within the utility’s service territory.
The program comes as Maryland advances its transition to zero-emission transportation under the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which requires public school systems to purchase zero-emission vehicles.
The law states that county school boards must only enter into new contracts to purchase or operate zero-emissions school buses, or otherwise electric school buses. Districts may seek exemptions if zero-emission buses cannot meet operational needs, such as route length, or if sufficient funding is not available to cover the higher upfront costs.
The EV transition is not without its challenges. Montgomery County Public Schools, the largest school district in Maryland and an early national leader in school bus electrification, recently requested approval to purchase about 140 new diesel buses to meet immediate transportation needs. According to local news reports, district officials said current electric bus technology and fleet availability have not fully met operational demands for longer routes, field trips and midday service. These reasons prompted the temporary return to conventional buses while the district continues to evaluate its long-term electrification strategy.
Funding Aims to Incentivize Zero-Emissions Adoption
Meanwhile, Potomac Edison is supporting the electric shift by covering the cost difference between diesel and electric school buses, up to $250,000 per vehicle. It is also paying for the cost of charging infrastructure and any required electrical upgrades.
In addition to financial incentives, the program will provide school districts with technical and administrative support for planning and installing charging equipment and training personnel responsible for operating the buses.
The pilot will also test V2G technology. Utilities and policymakers have increasingly pointed to V2G as a way EVs could support grid reliability while vehicles sit idle between routes. Successful use cases have been slow to proliferate throughout the industry, but recent developments point to more achievable success with V2G.
“This program is designed to help make the EV transition more practical and affordable,” said Jim Myers, FirstEnergy’s president of West Virginia and Maryland. “We’re reducing upfront costs and offering hands-on support to help school systems integrate electric buses smoothly.”
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