BGE Unveils First Electric Bus

From BGE: BGE unveiled one of its two state-of-the-art electric buses that will shuttle employees between its downtown Baltimore headquarters and its Spring Gardens campus in south Baltimore. BGE is the first company in Baltimore City to have an electric bus vehicle fleet and the first utility in the nation to incorporate electric shuttle buses into its fleet of vehicles. The second bus will arrive next month.

The shuttles will transport employees to and from the company’s new customer care center at BGE’s downtown headquarters opening next month. Employees will have access to parking at the company’s Spring Gardens campus, including newly installed electric vehicle charging stations that are located at each of BGE’s work locations throughout central Maryland.

“Zero-emissions electric buses address so many needs, from furthering our understanding of the electric vehicle technologies our customers are using, to reducing the demand on downtown parking, to minimizing our impact on the environment,” said Calvin G. Butler, chief executive officer of BGE. “We are always looking for better ways to serve our customers, and this clean, efficient and practical transportation solution is just another example of our commitment to identifying innovative new approaches.”

The 40-foot, zero-emission, heavy-duty vehicles will eliminate the need for more than 11,000 gallons of diesel fuel and eliminate more than 480,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) annually.

This project aligns with BGE’s efforts to help Maryland become a national leader in electric vehicle charging networks. A proposal being considered by the Maryland Public Service Commission would create a Statewide Electric Vehicle Portfolio with 24,000 chargers, making Maryland home to the second largest electric vehicle charging network in the country. BGE and its sister-utilities DPL and Pepco are among the signatories of that proposal.

Photos courtesy of BGE