Bill Text: NH SB417 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Establishing an electric school bus pilot program.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-4)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-04 - Lay SB417 on Table (Rep. Steven Smith): Motion Adopted DV 166-151 05/04/2022 House Journal 11 [SB417 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2022-SB417-Amended.html
SB 417-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
03/24/2022 1128s
21Apr2022... 1556h
2022 SESSION
22-2986
12/10
SENATE BILL 417-FN
AN ACT establishing an electric school bus pilot program.
SPONSORS: Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24; Sen. Hennessey, Dist 1; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Cavanaugh, Dist 16; Sen. Kahn, Dist 10; Rep. Telerski, Hills. 35; Rep. Steven Smith, Sull. 11
COMMITTEE: Transportation
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes an electric school bus pilot program within the department of environmental services.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/24/2022 1128s
21Apr2022... 1556h 22-2986
12/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT establishing an electric school bus pilot program.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Chapter; Electric School Bus Pilot Program. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 374-H the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 374-I
ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS PILOT PROGRAM
374-I:1 Definitions. In this chapter:
I. “Electric school bus” means a school bus that is powered exclusively by an electric motor that draws its current from rechargeable storage batteries, which are recharged with electricity from an electronic vehicle charging station.
II. “Electronic vehicle charging station” means an electronic vehicle charging station as defined in RSA 236:132.
III. “Incremental cost” means, for the purpose of this program, the difference in cost between the purchase and deployment of a conventional school bus versus the purchase and deployment of an electric school bus and may be inclusive of the cost of the vehicle, infrastructure such as electric charging infrastructure necessary to operate the vehicle, and any additional administration cost of implementing an electric school bus program.
IV. “Interconnection equipment” means a group of components or an integrated system that connects an electronic vehicle charging station with the distribution system of an electric utility.
V. “Interconnection facilities” means facilities required by the electric utility to accommodate the interconnection of an electronic vehicle charging station.
VI. “Participating school district” means a school district located within an electric utility company’s service territory that:
(a) Participates in an electric school bus vehicle-to-grid or demand response pilot program either as the participating entity or under an agreement with a participating entity; and
(b) Owns its school buses or contracts for school bus services.
VII. “Program costs” mean any costs to acquire and deploy electric school buses.
VIII. “Vehicle-to-grid” means a system in which the energy stored in the batteries of plug-in electric vehicles can be returned to the electrical grid.
374-I:2 Pilot Program Established.
I. There is hereby established an electric school bus pilot program to be administered by the department of environmental services.
II. The commissioner of the department of environmental services may allocate funding from the New Hampshire Volkswagen Mitigation Trust for the electric school bus pilot program and may apply for and accept any other federal funding for the purposes of funding and administering this program.
374-I:3 Requests for Proposals. The department of environmental services shall initiate an electric school bus pilot program within 3 months of the effective date of this chapter to provide available funding for electric school buses and associated charging infrastructure. A request for proposal shall identify the amount of funding that is available to offset the incremental costs of the electric school buses, the electric vehicle service equipment, and the administrative costs of implementing a qualified pilot program.
374-I:4 Qualified Pilot Programs. A qualifying pilot program shall:
I. Allow proposals to be submitted by any of the following:
(a) Electric distribution utilities;
(b) Electric vehicle charging equipment providers;
(c) Municipalities or school districts that operate school buses;
(d) Entities that have experience in owning and operating electric vehicle charging equipment; or
(e) School bus companies contracted for services by a New Hampshire school district.
II. Commence on or before December 31, 2023.
III. Allow, pending review and approval of the department of energy, plans submitted by the local electric utility to access and utilize the energy stored in the batteries of the electric school buses when utilizing the energy in the stored batteries can lower the cost of supplying power to customers, provided that the participating school district determines that the school buses are not needed to transport students and that the participating entity is fairly compensated for energy recovered from the batteries.
IV. Allow, after the review and approval of the public utilities commission, the cost to a utility for make-ready transmission or distribution to a facility, and any other costs reasonably incurred by the utility in support of this program to be a recoverable cost.
V. Provide training for school personnel in the proper use of the equipment and facilities.
VI. Require each funded bus to comply with the recommendations the National Transportation Safety Board relative to student transportation and provide for adequate interior heat for winter operations.
VII. Require selected applicants provide the department of energy with any information, data, and analysis that the department requires, including data relative to electric rates, and benefits and costs of the pilot program.
374-I:5 Reports. The department of environmental services shall, by January 31, 2023 and each year thereafter for the duration of any approved pilot program, report on the status of the pilot program to the governor, the senate president, speaker of the house, and the chair of the senate transportation committee, and the chair of the house transportation and science, technology and energy committee. The report shall include:
I. An evaluation of the environmental and health benefits of the pilot program; and
II. The financial costs and benefits of implementing the pilot program to the participating school system and the participating entity, including:
(a) The deployment, operating, and maintenance of the electric school buses; and
(b) The use of vehicle-to-grid technology.
374-I:6 Additional Funds. If additional funds become available for the program the department of environmental services shall issue a new request for proposals. Eligible applicants shall include both entities funded and not funded through the initial program.
2 Prospective Repeal. RSA 374-I, relative to electric school bus pilot programs, is repealed.
I. Section 2 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2027.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
22-2986
Amended 4/8/22
SB 417-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2022-1128s)
AN ACT establishing an electric school bus pilot program.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund, federal funds | |||
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes an electric school bus pilot program within the department of environmental
services.
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) indicates potential federal funds from the Clean School Bus Program could increase state revenue by an indeterminable amount. NHDES estimates the cost to implement the program would be $7,140 based on 140 hours of work by existing staff to develop a request for proposals, evaluate responses, select proposals and develop a contract(s) with an applicant(s) and oversee project implementation. Following the first year an additional 25 hours/year would be required for oversight of the contract(s) at an estimated cost of $1,275 per year.
NHDES provides the following information on the incremental cost of an electric school bus versus a conventional diesel bus:
- Increment cost of a bus: estimated to be $200,000 to $250,000.
- Charging infrastructure is estimated at $10,000-$30,000 per bus.
- Driver and technician training is estimated at $5,000 per project (whether project is one or five buses).
- The total incremental cost is $211,000 to $285,000 per bus.
- Assuming 5 buses will be funded by this project, the total project cost would be estimated to be $1,055,000 to $1,425,000.
- Grants would be awarded to municipalities and/or private school transportation providers, resulting in indeterminable local revenues and expenditures.
The Department of Energy indicates the potential cost to the Department is indeterminable. The Department states additional staff time will be necessary to evaluate plans submitted by the utilities to access energy stored in the batteries of the electric school buses, review the costs incurred by utilities, including physical infrastructure, and determine if such costs were reasonably incurred. The amount of additional staff time and the possible need for additional staff is not known and will depend upon the funding available and the number and size of qualified pilot programs.
It is assumed that any fiscal impact would occur after FY 2022.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Departments of Environmental Services and Energy
