TEMPE, Ariz. — Valley cities are turning toward an electric future and it's expensive.
Tempe Elementary School District bought its first electric school bus using voter-approved bond money.
It cost $651,000.
Tempe Elementary School District Director of Transportation and School Safety Jessica Palmer said it's a long-term investment compared to diesel buses that cost about $270,000.
“In many cases, the cost to procure an electric vehicle may be higher, but the maintenance costs are a lot lower. The fuel if you will, electricity, is a lot cheaper to run a vehicle on than diesel or gasoline," Salt River Project Manager of Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy Burrell Kilmer said.
Kilmer is working with Arizona companies and municipalities to electrify their fleets.
SRP's fleet advisory program offers a rebate of up to $20,000 for eligible customers to complete a study to convert to electric fleets.
Tempe is one of the participating cities.
“Most anything that moves that can be electrified, we’re going to find ways to do it cheaper, better, more efficiently and ultimately cleaner," Kilmer said.
The EV movement is coming quickly, but Kilmer said the Valley is many years away from widespread changes.
“We’re also very focused on making sure our grid is ready to support it because some aspects of this you know are coming whether we as the electric utility want it or not. Customers are electrifying," Kilmer said.
SRP offers rebates and there are federal grants out there to fund EV fleets.
Palmer said Tempe is applying for those grants to buy its next school buses.
“We thought this would be a good opportunity to give back to our community, take some of the carbon footprint off of the City of Tempe and hopefully more to come in our fleet," Palmer said.
SRP said it's on track to accomplish its goal of supporting the enablement of 500,000 electric vehicles in its service territory by 2035.
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