Read Potomac Edison's proposal in full on
the Public Service Commission's website.
WILLIAMSPORT, Md., Jan. 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE)
subsidiary Potomac Edison has submitted a five-year Electric School
Bus Pilot Program proposal to the Maryland Public Service
Commission (PSC) intended to help the state reach its climate
goals. The pilot supports Maryland's Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022,
which requires any new school buses contracted or purchased by
public school systems in the state to be zero emissions.
Don McGettigan, acting President of FirstEnergy's
Maryland Operations: "We believe the data collected during the
pilot will allow us to better understand how we can help meet our
school districts' evolving transportation and electrification needs
and ultimately help the districts save money in the long run. Our
pilot program is also intended to help the state meet climate goals
by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which will create cleaner air
and improve overall health in local communities we serve."
To aid in the electric school bus (ESB) transition across
Potomac Edison's Maryland service
territory, the company will provide:
- Financial incentives for school districts to acquire and
deploy ESBs.
- Reimbursements for EV charging infrastructure and
IT-related costs associated with the transition to ESBs.
- Assessments of grid capacity and other technical and
administrative support.
- Connection to the Potomac Edison electric grid including
coverage of all related costs.
The public school districts that opt to participate in the pilot
program, will receive funding that reduces the cost difference
between an electric school bus and an equivalent diesel-fueled bus.
The electric buses will also be equipped with lap and shoulder
belts for students to comply with a new state safety law.
"Approval of the initiative by the PSC also will enable us
to explore opportunities to use the stored energy in electric
school bus batteries to address electricity needs during grid
emergencies, potentially yielding positive outcomes for all our
customers in the future," said McGettigan.
The pilot follows the PSC's consent to extend Potomac Edison's
electric vehicle program EV Driven, originally approved in 2019, to
help make EV ownership and charging easier and more accessible
throughout Maryland. Learn
more about Potomac Edison's EV Driven program at
evdrivenpe.com
Potomac Edison serves about 285,000 customers in all or parts of
Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington counties. Follow Potomac Edison
at potomacedison.com, on X, formerly known as
Twitter, @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook
at facebook.com/PotomacEdison.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, West Virginia,
Maryland and New York. The company's transmission
subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines
that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow
FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and on X
@FirstEnergyCorp.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.