Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) has purchased two battery-electric buses to shuttle its employees between its downtown Baltimore headquarters and Spring Gardens campus just outside of the city. According to a release from the company, this new addition makes BGE the first utility in the nation to incorporate electric shuttle buses into its fleet of vehicles.

The 40-foot shuttles are expected to displace more than 11,000 gallons of diesel fuel and eliminate more than 480,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Proterra’s 40-foot Catalyst E2 series achieves 22 MPGe, while conventional diesel buses average 3.86 MPG. These buses will utilize Combined Charging System (CCS) plug-in DC fast chargers, enabling interoperability with multiple vehicle types, including passenger cars and trucks to utilize the same charging equipment and ultimately lower infrastructure costs for all electric vehicles.

“As BGE looks at innovative ways to support our customers’ growing interest in electric vehicles, we must be able to support not only our residential customers, but also our commercial and industrial customers,” said Calvin Butler, BGE CEO. “This is why we are thrilled to be the first utility to deploy heavy-duty electric shuttle buses and interoperable charging infrastructure which will not only provide an efficient way to get our employees from one location to another, but will also serve as active research lab that will help us plan for and build out the infrastructure necessary to support other fleets across our service area. We look forward to partnering with Proterra, as we build a market that supports our electrification and grid modernization goals.”

The procurement was funded in part by the Maryland Freedom Fleet Voucher Program, which offered a $20,000 voucher per bus. These are the first electric buses to receive this voucher from the State of Maryland.

This heavy-duty electric vehicle shuttle program will inform future BGE decisions on EV fleet integration, interoperable charging infrastructure and EV rate design, ultimately supporting a statewide electrification strategy.