Author: Sandy Smith

CPS Energy, which serves approximately 820,000 electric customers and more than 345,000 gas customers in the San Antonio area, wanted to help convince its utility customers to explore electric and hybrid vehicles. But rather than roll out a marketing campaign touting the benefits of EVs, the company opted to roll out its own trucks.

Today, CPS Energy has 44 hybrid plug-in Ford F-150s and 15 hybrid Ford F-250s among its fleet of 2,000 vehicles. It also has plans to deploy 14 fully electric sedans. While the sedans will come from the OEM, the Ford F-150s and F-250s were upfitted by XL (www.xlfleet.com). XL offers two versions: a standard hybrid, which is available on several OEM platforms, including Ford, Chevrolet, GM and Isuzu; and a plug-in hybrid, currently available only for Ford F-150s and F-250s.

XL introduced the F-250 plug-in hybrid earlier this year. According to Eric Foellmer, XL’s marketing director, “That’s really generated a huge amount of interest in the utility community.” The plug-in hybrid makes sense for electric utilities in particular, Foellmer said, because “they have unlimited electricity access and a charging infrastructure.”

The standard hybrid system from XL reduces fuel use by about 25% through regenerative braking. The plug-in hybrid cuts fuel use by up to 50% and includes a 15-kWh battery pack that provides shared propulsion with the original powertrain. The plug-in option is compatible with Level 1 and Level 2 charging.

Maintenance Mechanics
Since XL’s electrification system is installed without altering the OEM’s powertrain, fuel or exhaust system, the original warranty remains intact. Maintenance specs are largely the same, too. “The only thing you’ll ever have to do is check and top off the coolant on the battery system,” Foellmer said. “That can be done on the normal cycle of maintenance.”

But the battery can create some concerns for utilities. According to Bert Hargesheimer, senior director of fleet operations and safety at CPS Energy, “There are some different safety challenges with the lithium-ion batteries. We’ve been working on getting the safety team up to speed.”

That has meant training mechanics to work with the technology “so that they’re not nervous or concerned with working on the trucks,” said Tania Hernandez, manager of the driving safe team and fleet process improvement for CPS Energy. “There are a couple that are a little hesitant, but there’s a good sense that the training will get them there. Just like anything that’s new.” 

Benefits Outweigh Challenges
To assist its customers, XL is developing an online web portal that can be accessed by customers’ mechanics. “It will have a basic overview of our system, information on high-voltage safety, and tools to diagnose and repair the system if it’s required,” Foellmer said. “An extensive training process isn’t needed, but we want to make sure that they understand and feel comfortable with what they’re receiving.”

While Foellmer said that XL doesn’t promote improved maintenance cycles, he noted that “we consistently hear from our customers that they see less wear and tear on brake pads with the regenerative braking system, which feels similar to shifting into lower gear when you’re going down a hill. And with the electrification assist during acceleration, it puts less of a demand on the engine over time.”

Because the implementation at CPS Energy is still new, the utility hasn’t yet seen the benefits of reduced preventive maintenance, but Hargesheimer anticipates they will be apparent soon enough. For now, the vehicles remain under warranty, so CPS Energy’s mechanics haven’t had to perform any repairs, he said.

There was one hurdle in the beginning, when XL recalled the batteries on its hybrids. “They worked with us well and tried to get help to us as quickly as they could,” Hargesheimer said.

That’s to be expected with new technology, according to Hernandez. “Since we’re early adopters, it’s part of the growing pains of learning,” she said. “But we feel it’s worth it to be at the beginning of the curve.” 

About the Author: Sandy Smith is a freelance writer and editor based in Nashville, Tennessee.

*****

Driver Training Needed, Too
It’s not just maintenance technicians who must adapt to a new hybrid pickup truck. At CPS Energy, drivers also need some help “getting familiar with the technology,” said Tania Hernandez, manager of the driving safe team and fleet process improvement for the utility.

“It’s so new and a lot of drivers aren’t experienced with it,” Hernandez said. She noted that CPS Energy has a team that works with drivers “to make sure they understand the technology at a high level so that they know what’s happening while they’re driving.”

Bert Hargesheimer, senior director of fleet operations and safety at CPS Energy, said that driver training programs can ensure that fleet enjoys the benefits of a hybrid. “If you want to change behavior, the first part is familiarizing them with the new vehicles, how they work and why they work. It’s about getting them comfortable. Then it is about getting the information on user behavior and providing feedback about the opportunities to optimize the hybrid technology.”

Even if you closely follow the news, it’s difficult to pin down which direction electric vehicles (EVs) will be heading over the coming year. Production of certain hybrid models is ending, while other OEMs have promised to roll out more all-electric vehicles. Some car enthusiasts have proclaimed 2019 as the “year of the electric.”

Scott Shepard, senior research analyst/energy for market research and advisory company Navigant Research (www.navigantresearch.com), believes there’s plenty worth watching in the coming year – but not necessarily for fleets. “It looks like most of the conversation is going to be around long-range SUVs coming onto the market,” he said.

Jaguar, Audi, BMW, Hyundai and Kia are among the automakers with a U.S. presence that will be introducing new electric SUVs in 2019. A number of Chinese startup manufacturers also are expecting a big year ahead. “That’s all a big deal,” Shepard said. “These are the first vehicles that are competitive with a Tesla, with similar range characteristics as well as purchase price characteristics.”

For his part, Ted Davis, vice president, North American supply chain for fleet management company ARI (www.arifleet.com), pointed to California OEM Chanje Energy, which is “already taking orders for its Euro-style electric van.” Others, like ROUSH CleanTech, with its all-electric Ford F-650, and Mitsubishi Fuso, with its eCanter, should be taking orders later this year, pending road tests. Shepard pointed to Rivian, the talk of the Los Angeles Auto Show, for its sport pickup truck. “As the first models hit the road, we’ll begin to see how these units perform in real-world scenarios, and hopefully this insight will encourage more fleets to embrace this ever-evolving trend,” Davis said.

Questions and Concerns
Questions remain, however, particularly with regard to price and range – which can pose a challenge for utility fleets, especially fleets looking to use EVs for applications beyond those of pool vehicles. That’s something that Gary Lentsch, fleet manager for the Eugene Water and Electric Board in Eugene, Oregon, can attest to. The utility has had EVs since 1972, primarily in its light-duty fleet, so using them is not something new. But, he said, “Because of our service area, it’s really hard to come up with uses for those vehicles, mainly because of range.” 

Lentsch also noted two other concerns. First, constantly improving technology means that fleet EVs become somewhat outdated after just a few years. The other concern is that “every time we get a foot forward with EVs or any other type of alternative fuel vehicles, the price of oil drops and we lose our momentum,” Lentsch said. “On the bright side, every time EVs come back in favor, they get better and better.”

The price point on larger utility trucks, though, remains out of reach for Eugene Water. “We’re a public utility, so we watch the money,” Lentsch said. “You can’t go out and buy something that, in two years, the technology is so much better that the vehicle just sits around.”

Change on the Horizon?
Power and size also are hurdles for other utility fleets, but change may be on the horizon. “Automakers are generally thinking more about larger vehicles,” Shepard said. “It is not just a North American phenomenon at this point. The vehicles coming to market in 2019 are primarily premium segments, but there are going to be more in the future in 2020 and 2021.”

It may be even longer before that trickles down to utility fleets, he said. For that to happen, “you have to see further improvements to battery prices and the scale from OEMs to get the prices to a competitive standpoint,” according to Shepard. “We do expect it, but when?”

Shepard noted that the next EV innovations likely will be in areas such as minivans and delivery vans. “Work trucks are difficult to electrify,” he said. “Service trucks are even harder.”

Already, though, electric-powered bucket trucks are on the market, allowing for gas engines with all-electric aerial units. “New technology allows utility workers to operate aerial devices for an entire workday without ever needing to start the truck, mainly due to advancing battery technology and lower production costs,” Davis said.

While pickup trucks and extended-range SUVs may make the news in 2019, any headlines about electric utility fleets will be further down the road, Shepard said. “We expect this to be a long approach before we really start to see these things in work trucks.”

Davis is a bit more optimistic, citing improvements in battery technology and OEM commitment to electric. “I believe it will only grow stronger as the technology continues to evolve,” he said. “Light- and medium-duty electric trucks are just now hitting the roads, but the innovation associated with these models as they come to market will certainly help fuel the bright future of electric vehicles.”

About the Author: Sandy Smith is a freelance writer and editor based in Nashville, Tennessee.

*****

Wireless Charging: A Coming Revolution?
Scott Shepard, senior research analyst/energy for Navigant Research, anticipates that the big EV news in 2019 may come from advances in wireless charging. “It’s going to come into premium vehicle segments as an option first,” he predicted. “It’s always been a retrofit option, but it’s so cheap and easy to use the cords that come with the vehicle.”

Wireless charging includes a ground pad that the driver parks over. A receiving system in the underside of the vehicle connects to the electronics and battery systems.

“The use cases now are for premium vehicles and vehicles in car-share programs,” Shepard said. “For fleets, the value diminishes. If you have dedicated parking for EVs and are on the economy side of the market, go for the cheaper charging.”

Idling work trucks can be an annoyance to those who have to listen to them, damaging to the environment and, increasingly, they are unnecessary and undesirable in the field.

For one thing, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Phase 2 greenhouse gas emissions and fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles will be in place relatively soon, impacting work trucks beginning with the 2021 model year.

But fleets don’t even need to wait that long to address the issues that idling vehicles present. Already, a number of new anti-idling technologies are ensuring that workers can do their jobs without their vehicle’s engine running.

While anti-idling technologies have been around for a while, the last year has brought several advances that are providing better results at a lower cost. Perhaps the greatest technology that could lead to successful adoption in the field is one that powers heating and cooling.

“That’s a neat next step,” said Bill Van Amburg, executive vice president of CALSTART (www.calstart.org), the nation’s leading clean transportation technology organization. “That has been a limitation. If you’re in a hot or cold climate, shutting down the engine is good. But you’re getting into a cold or hot cab. Who wants to do that? To be able to say, ‘You’ll not lose the ability to stay comfortable while doing your job’ will help people be willing to comply.”

He also has seen worksite idle-reduction technology in which the electronic control module offers a countdown of sorts, signaling the engine to shut off so that fuel can be saved and power can be drawn from batteries for use with power tools and cabin needs.

It is something of a sweet spot with anti-idling technologies. Rising diesel prices, advances in energy storage and cheaper batteries are poised to drive these technologies forward, Van Amburg believes. “Some of these systems were expensive when diesel was cheap,” he said.

Driving Down Costs
That is not the only cost of idling, of course. Today’s engines require maintenance based on operational hours, not miles – and idling can significantly drive that up.  

“Idling is very hard on engines, on emission parts,” said Bill Needles, sales director for Stealth Power (www.idlereduction.com), which offers retrofit options that power auxiliary and hydraulic electrical loads without engaging the truck’s primary engine. “It really extends the preventive maintenance cycles out.”

Stealth works with partner Microsoft to power a data dashboard for each of its customers, detailing fuel savings, engine hours saved, maintenance savings and the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

The company is just starting to pursue opportunities in the utility industry with several alternative energy solutions. Its technology has been proven with emergency services like ambulances – which have their own need to power equipment when not idling – as well as military and long-haul trucking.

Stealth has installed systems on bucket trucks and other utility vehicles. Recently, the system has been upgraded with lighter batteries and components, pushing the technology further ahead, Needles said.

Another Option
While Stealth may be new to the utility industry, Terex’s HyPower has been on a “long journey,” said Ted Barron, vertical market manager for Terex Utilities (www.terex.com/utilities). “We have learned a lot with plug-in electric hybrid vehicles.” The company’s latest offering is the HyPower IM, which is currently available on Terex aerials with a platform height of 40 to 45 feet.

HyPower IM automatically switches from engine operation to battery and back again. “The logic in the control system knows when to utilize battery power and when to go to engine power in order to balance the operator’s requirements with the economic benefits of reducing idle time,” Barron said.

As Terex personnel talk to utility fleet professionals about their needs, they tend to request cabin comfort, lightweight solutions that maintain payload and sound reduction on the job site, Barron said. But foremost is the need for reliability – and much of that comes down to the battery.

“A big challenge OEMs face is the current availability of battery technology,” Barron said. “Cost, capacity, weight, performance in extreme temperatures, heat generated by the system and packaging considerations for installation on the truck chassis are all factors we must consider when designing emissions-friendly utility trucks.”

And while the last year has brought improvements, “there is a lag between those new technologies and a manufacturing-ready package,” Barron noted.

Ultimately, many technologies already are in place. Van Amburg pointed to the fact that a California-compliant engine is preprogrammed by the OEM to shut off after five minutes of idling. “The technology is there,” he said. “What we need to see is more fleet willingness to source it. They have to be convinced that there’s a payback for them.”

About the Author: Sandy Smith is a freelance writer and editor based in Nashville, Tennessee.

*****

Idle-Reduction Policies vs. Technology
For years, fleets have been encouraged to develop and adopt policies that require operators to shut off vehicles in certain circumstances.

But policies are only as good as their enforcement, said Bill Van Amburg, executive vice president of CALSTART. “If you have a policy to shut down the engine after 15 seconds, one minute, whatever, you have to track that and make sure it’s being followed. In the past, there wasn’t always the ability or willingness to track it.”

While telematics solves the ability issue, policies still come up short when compared to the technology. “What the technology now can do is take away choice in certain circumstances,” Van Amburg said.

At the end of the day, a technology solution “should be seamless and add value to the mission in order for it to be adopted and employed,” said Ted Barron, vertical market manager for Terex Utilities. “We believe it is better to employ technologies that allow the operator to concentrate on the job at hand, rather than on managing idling.”

John Adkisson, transportation manager for Pennsylvania-based PPL Electric Utilities, keeps an eye on the fuel consumption of the company’s vehicles through the use of fuel cards.

Each vehicle in the utility’s fleet is assigned one of these cards when the vehicle is put in service, and each employee is assigned a unique driver ID. Assigning fuel cards and driver IDs serves two purposes: “This allows anyone who operates a company vehicle to fuel any vehicle that he or she may be driving with the fuel card,” Adkisson said. “This also allows the fleet department to track fuel consumption down to an individual vehicle.”

Monthly exception reporting provides Adkisson insight into any unusual activity, such as an out-of-state purchase or purchase of a large quantity of fuel. If needed, he can limit driver transactions by number or amount via the fuel card’s website.

An Attractive Solution
It is this type of data, flexibility and control that make fuel cards an attractive solution for today’s utility fleets, often winning out over other options, such as on-site fuel tanks and driver reimbursement.

“Customizable controls and program parameters are among the top benefits of a fuel card, as compared to other options,” said Andy Hall, assistant manager of fuel and GMS products for fleet management company ARI (www.arifleet.com). “Reimbursement programs and general credit cards typically allow drivers to purchase virtually anything they want without restriction, resulting in misuse and abuse.”

PPL has its own fuel tanks at some of its larger facilities, but those are used only “as a last resort,” Adkisson said. Use of one of those tanks may mean a fuel card has been lost or there is some sort of fueling disruption.

Last year’s significant storms drove that last point home, said Jayme Schnedeker, director of fleet products for Element Fleet Management (www.elementfleet.com). “Increasingly, there is a focus on emergency fueling or coverage when retail stations are down,” he said.

But for most day-to-day operations, fuel card use allows for greater control and insight, particularly when paired with other technology, such as telematics.

“When you combine fuel card data with technology, such as our ARI insights platform, you can create custom dashboards with alerts and key performance indicators, allowing you to manage by exception and quickly identify opportunities to drive savings,” Hall said. “Also, this data warehousing gives fleet managers the ability to easily generate comprehensive reporting for budgeting and forecasting purposes.”

The ability to gather that level of detail outweighs the benefits of a corporate credit card, Schnedeker said. “Corporate cards are only purchasing mechanisms, whereas a fuel card program is set up to deliver data and reporting that fleet managers can use to actively manage their expense.”

Fraud Concerns
There is at least one potential drawback to fuel cards that fleets should be aware of: They are as vulnerable to fraud as other types of payment at the pump. The use of skimmers – devices that grab numbers from cards swiped at pumps – has increased the prevalence of fuel fraud in the last year or so, Schnedeker said. “Thieves have gotten really creative in terms of how they’re able to disguise purchases to steal fuel. It’s pushed fuel card companies to develop ways to use the transactional data to better assess the transactions and determine whether they are fraudulent or not.”

Chip card use continues to grow, but not all fueling stations currently accept the cards. Hall expects that most fuel card providers will be ready for a 2020 mandate that requires fuel stations to install chip-card readers.

In addition, he sees leading fuel card providers working on a one-card solution that “can accommodate pricing models for both truck stops (cost-plus) and retail locations (rebate). This will allow mixed fleets to use one card platform across all their vehicles. In addition, providers are also exploring mobile payment solutions, with a few scenarios currently in the pilot phase, but adoption will likely be slow due to the necessary equipment investment.”

As instances of fuel fraud grow in number, it is increasingly important for fleets that use fuel cards to develop data and security policies, Schnedeker said. “It’s simple, but it’s often overlooked: provide information in writing about where the cards are stored and how drivers should keep their driver IDs private.”

About the Author: Sandy Smith is a freelance writer and editor based in Nashville, Tennessee.

*****

Select the Right Fuel Card for Your Fleet
Is your company considering investing in a fuel card program? Here are some criteria for evaluating providers from Andy Hall, assistant manager of fuel and GMS products for ARI, and Jayme Schnedeker, director of fleet products for Element Fleet Management.

• Consider the financial aspects, including rebates.
• Explore the levels of controls and customization that are available. Hall said to look for “extensive flexible controls that can be tailored to the specific needs of the fleet.”
• Ensure that the fuel card is widely accepted, which both Schnedeker and Hall said is a top priority. “Unless a fleet operates on a very specific, well-defined route that a particular supplier can accommodate, most fleets should select a universal card with broad acceptance,” Hall said.
• Make sure adequate account support is available. “This is important particularly during implementation,” Schnedeker said. “It’s a great opportunity to hear about best practices and validate how the provider will work to make things simple. That functional support makes or breaks the program.”