ROCHESTER, N.Y. – As school districts across New York state grapple with the upcoming mandate to transition to electric buses, many are facing challenges in determining if there is enough power on the grid locally to sustain the switch. 

State law mandates that all districts stop buying diesel buses by 2027 and stop using all diesel buses by 2035 but a number of our towns are running out of available power on the grid already.  It’s a topic News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke recently spoke with the RG&E/NYSEG CEO about:

Jennifer Lewke (News10NBC): “Trish, so many towns seem to be having these issues (running out of power) when we’re just talking about housing and business development, let alone some of the upcoming state mandates for electric school buses and public transit.  Can you keep up with those mandates and how?”

Trish Nilsen (CEO, RG&E): “That’s where I referenced the nationwide challenge, it’s really something that all utilities and all leaders across the United States are really looking at…it’s a matter of working toward electrification in an approach that allows customers to meet their needs today and building a process that we can anticipate the growing needs like grants like the one we’re talking about right now.”

Jennifer Lewke: “Yea, but I mean this school bus mandate is coming for us in the next couple of years so, is it even physically possible for our districts right now?”

Trish Nilsen:  “I think that’s really something that the state has been looking at in a collaborative approach between NYSERDA, the NY Independent System Operator, the NY Public Service Commission, the state government… they’ve really been working on a statewide collaboration to make sure that things are moving at a measured approach and an appropriate approach based on the electrification and the school boards’ ability to make the purchases they need to move forward.” 

Jennifer Lewke:  “So, it sounds like you’re saying, and I don’t want to put words in your mouth but I’m asking you kind of a direct question.  Do you think that it will be delayed then?

Trish Nilsen:  “It’s not a decision that’s really mine.  I think each of the schools has to figure out their approach for what they can do for electrification, and we’ll be hearing more I’m sure, from the state as we get closer to those deadlines.  We’re working in concert with all of our schools to make sure that they know what they need to do in terms of their system upgrades and what we need to do in terms of ours.”

Some of our local school districts say they’re trying to work in concert with RG&E to get an idea of what they’ll need to do but, “basically, our feasibility study is done except we’ve been waiting for almost 3 months for RG&E to provide us information about the transformers, if there’s enough electricity to do it, what it’s all going to cost to do these infrastructure upgrades,” says Sean McCabe, the President of the School Board at Greece Central School District.  

Greece has a fleet of more than 200 buses, it’s planning to lower that number to 190 when it transitions to electric.  The district estimates it’ll need about 5 megawatts of power to charge and sustain those 190 electric buses but the current surplus at the Latta Road substation that serves the bus garage is only 1.5 megawatts.

“I mean the buses are $250,000 more (each), if we have to do infrastructure work on a new transformer, it could be millions and millions of dollars,” McCabe says.  “If we can’t set that money aside to have it as part of a capital project or do a bus reserve account where there’s zero impact to taxpayers, if I have to take it out to a vote, I’m not confident that taxpayers in Greece would support that, so that’s why we’re trying to plan to do this the right way.”

Greece isn’t alone in this challenge.

“One of the challenges that they (RG&E) have is so many districts are doing these studies and asking for feedback about their power supply and how much access do they have? And how much will they need and where’s it going to come from,” says David Richardson, the Executive Director of Student Operations at Greece Schools.  “So, take what we’re doing and now add in Hilton and Spencerport, and Churchville-Chili, East Irondequoit, The City of Rochester and it just compounds and becomes an issue with RG&E saying, how and where are we getting this power?”

A spokeswoman for RG&E tells News10NBC there is not a typical timeline for the process of determining a district’s power needs because it varies based on geographical size, location and fleet size. 

In a statement the utility adds, “RG&E is working with the Greece Central School District as the planning process to bring electric school buses to their district is underway. We offer a fleet assessment service that is a first step in the process, providing site feasibility, rate analysis, estimated billing impacts, and charging recommendations. The Company also works with NYSERDA and school districts to build a comprehensive plan. This is a collaborative effort involving multiple entities. We encourage school districts considering converting their fleet to electric to learn about RG&E’s incentives and programs. RG&E will continue to provide ongoing support and is committed to working with other agencies and customers on their journey toward electrification to help meet their needs and the state’s clean energy goals.”