Electric utility Xcel Energy is rolling out its first all-electric bucket truck this month as the company transitions its service fleet to lower emissions.
Earlier this month, Xcel asserted tha it is the first U.S. utility to add the electric bucket trucks. Xcel provides electricity to more than three million customers in Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The company will utilize the first all-electric bucket truck in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. A second EV truck will join the fleet later this year, according to reports.
“We’re proud to be the first energy company in the United States to add all-electric bucket trucks to our fleet,” said Bob Frenzel, chairman, president, and CEO of Xcel Energy. “By adding these clean energy vehicles to our fleet, Xcel Energy is demonstrating its commitment to leading the clean energy transition by becoming a net-zero energy provider for all our customers’ energy needs – electricity, heating and transportation, while also helping shape the electrification of the truck industry, which complements our overall vision to provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050.”
Xcel Energy is going to utilize the all-electric bucket trucks in real working conditions as part of pilot projects to understand their performance. The company overall has more than 1,000 aerial bucket trucks in its fleet.
The goal, however, is electrify Xcel’s light-duty fleet entirely and 30 percent of the medium and heavy-duty fleet by 2030. The first EV bucket truck is being delivered by Terex Utilities and Navistar.
The U.S. transportation sector currently accounts for about 26 percent of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide, according to data from the federal Energy Information Administration.
