On November 7, commercial fleet operators, elected officials and business leaders participated in an electric vehicle (EV) Ride & Drive, hosted by OUC, at the SunTrax test track facility in Auburndale. Fellow utilities Tampa Electric Company and Lakeland Electric also were on-site to help drivers get behind the wheel and convert to EVs.
OUC team members on-site included Thom Nealssohn, Director of New Products and Market Development, Pete Westlake, Manager of News Products and Solutions, Nick Smith, Senior Product Analyst, Atheka Graham, Product Analyst, Bynne Harris, Product Development Coordinator, Tom Lay, Senior Account Representative for Key Accounts, and Camila Schmaltz, Account Representative for Key Accounts.
Also taking part were original equipment manufacturers, electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturers, leasing companies, vehicle upfitters, and fleet telematics software providers to help fleet managers understand what is involved in making the switch to EVs. It was an opportunity to get questions answered, including from organizations who have already converted their fleets, and make key industry contacts with solutions providers.
Attendees get an up-close view of an electric box truck.
As part of the event, attendees were able to take test drives of several different types of EVs, including light-duty vehicles, pickup trucks, transit vans, and box trucks.
When not on the track, attendees learned about the potential cost savings with running an EV fleet compared to one with traditional vehicles, how to plan out the transition to EVs – starting with a pilot program, and how EVs also contribute to an organization’s sustainability goals. Attendees could also go through an analysis of their current fleet to identify opportunities for electrification that took into account purchase prices, federal and state incentives, charging and infrastructure costs, and other factors.
Among the attendees were representatives from Orange County, City of Orlando, City of St. Cloud, Central Florida Expressway Authority, Department of Veterans Affairs, Universal, Hertz, Mears, Geico, Valencia College, United States Green Building Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Environment Florida, and other area government agencies, organizations, companies, and nonprofits.
November 8 was a Policy Day featuring presentations from local municipalities, school districts and transit authorities. OUC Board President Britta Gross spoke in her capacity as Director of Transportation with the Electric Power Research Institute. OUC’s Fleet Supervisor Brian Frye and Manager of Emerging Technologies Justin Kramer spoke about their experience with running EVs as part of OUC’s fleet.
Other presenters were from the Florida Department of Transportation (which operates SunTrax), NovaCHARGE, Drive Electric Florida, the Electrification Coalition, LYNX, Hertz, and City of Orlando.
Pete Westlake, Manager of New Products & Services, shares about OUC’s electrification efforts.
“This is where fleet managers can come test drive vehicles. They need to see whether these vehicles are suitable for their purpose and what they do on a day-to-day basis before they start looking at procurement,” said Pete Westlake, Manager of New Products & Services. “We’re also supplying them with a lot of information that helps them make the business case for the transition.”
The Ride & Drive was held in conjunction with industry groups the Electrification Coalition and Electric Car Insider, as well as Tampa Electric Company. Fellow Florida utilities, including City of Tallahassee, Seminole Utility Cooperative and JEA, held similar events in Tallahassee and Jacksonville the previous week.
