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State bus vouchers, charger checks and make-ready incentives could cover large shares of costs, consultants say
Summary
The team told the board that state NYSBIB vouchers and charger vouchers reduce per-bus costs and that joint-utility 'make-ready' programs can cover up to 90% of utility-side costs; completing the district's fleet plan increases available voucher amounts.
Consultants walked the board through state and utility incentives designed to lower district costs for battery-electric buses and chargers.
Ekholm explained that New York's NYSBIB program offers base bus vouchers (roughly $114,000 for Type A and $147,000 for Type C) plus a scrappage bonus for destroyed diesel/gas units; districts normally may apply for six vouchers but completing a fleet-electrification plan allows an additional four, giving Eden access to 10 vouchers. For charging, the state offers a base charger voucher (about $25,000 per bus) but the district's completed plan would make it eligible for $55,000 per bus; the charging vouchers program has an approximate $2 million cap in the current design.
On the utility side, joint-utility make-ready incentives were described as covering up to 90% of the utility-side costs (transformer and feeder work), leaving the district responsible for an estimated 10%. Consultants cautioned that actual utility costs remain unknown until a formal National Grid work request is submitted and that program timelines and eligibility steps must be followed in order.
