EJ Klock-McCook’s Post

Baltimore Gas and Electric wanted to make sure it was prepared for fleet electrification and its grid impacts, so it partnered with RMI and Atlas Public Policy to project electric truck sales, their electricity usage, and environmental impacts. It’s astonishing that we can quantify millions of anonymous truck trips and turn them into electric load projections by place and time of day—an example of how data can help us understand complex otherwise hidden systems. But thanks to Geotab, and the sharp minds of Nocona, Gerard, James, Nick, and Hannah, we did it (with surprising pollution analysis too)! Here are a few insights that stood out to me (my own takeaways, not necessarily shared by BGE): • The 80/20 rule strikes again: The largest fleets own a disproportionate share of vehicles. • Patterns of adoption shift over time: Early electrification focuses on vans and smaller trucks, leading to demand near cities. But as tractor-trailers electrify, the hotspots move to warehouses and logistics hubs. • Fleets as dream loads: With extensive downtime, most trucks can either sip power throughout the day or charge at higher power during off-peak hours. Early pilots of flexible interconnect programs show fleets embracing this, and our analysis suggests it’s scalable. • Health benefits matter—big time: In BGE’s case, the potential health benefits of fleet electrification could approach $300 million. Quantifying this impact in dollars makes me think about the toll of the diesel exhaust I inhale daily—and how much better our cities could be. This project was a career highlight. Working alongside the BGE and Exelon team—Christopher, Cena, Naveen, and Aqdas Nida (our brilliant captain)—was inspiring. I hope the work leads to EV-enabling investment and national insights on the benefits and characteristics of electric trucks. For a deeper dive into the findings, check out BGE’s fact sheet!