Infrastructure Upgrades to Support Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Electrification in New York

Environmental Defense Fund
Project completed April 2023

To meet its climate goals, New York will need to electrify the majority of its medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which include tractor trailers, delivery buses, refuse trucks, and large pickup trucks and vans. Distribution system and site upgrades will be necessary to support higher load on the grid and accommodate installation of charging stations. Currently, the costs of these upgrades fall largely on individual fleet owners, which may hinder electrification. One way to support rapid vehicle electrification would be to socialize more of these costs through a vehicle make-ready program. 

On behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund, Synapse calculated the costs and revenues that a vehicle make-ready program would generate in two regions of New York. We found that a make-ready program would have neutral-to-beneficial impact on rates in both utility service areas for the period 2023-2045.