The Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service (USPS) recently pledged to make 10% of its new fleet fully electric. The update was announced last week and will replace 50,000-165,000 vehicles over the next 10 years. The current line of LLVs (long-life vehicles) on the USPS ICE is almost 30 years old.
As Electrek had already covered, the initial USPS contract was awarded to Oshkosh Corporation for $ 482 million. Oshkosh Corp. is a Wisconsin-based defense contractor known for building military vehicles. The final decision came from Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. DeJoy was appointed last May by the USPS Board of Directors, all selected by Donald Trump.
The initial announcement of the contract with Oshkosh Corp. mentioned a mix of ICE and electric vehicles. The news was met with surprise and disappointment by many who believed that the next USPS fleet would be fully electric, especially after the Biden administration announced plans a month ago for the transition of the entire government fleet to EVs. This includes postal vehicles.
Can the USPS not commit to more than 10% electric?
Congress asked DeJoy why the USPS could not commit to more than 10% of new vehicles being fully electric. He replied that the USPS does not have the extra 3 or 4 billion needed to do so. DeJoy continued, declaring that he was willing to talk to Congress and the Biden administration about additional funding.
Why DeJoy made no effort to work with Congress and the president before signing a contract with Oshkosh is still unclear. It is also unclear exactly how much an extensive electrical implementation would cost in comparison. That said, it is reasonable to believe that it would cost significantly more.
In fact, the USPS was previously in negotiations with Workhorse Group Inc., providing the Board of Governors with an offer for a fully electric postal fleet. The USPS rejected the proposal.
DeJoy said the USPS will ensure that the next ICE vehicles are built on a platform that is more easily convertible to electric. When this conversion can happen is also unclear. However, the USPS has allocated $ 500 million to this cause.
Yesterday, President Biden revealed intentions to nominate new members for the three vacant seats on the USPS Board of Directors. This move would solidify a Democratic majority on the council and offer bipartisanship. It would also give the board the power to remove DeJoy from his post. That is, if you think he is not fit for the role.
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Environmental advocates are unlikely to settle for anything less than 100% electric vehicles. However, there must be some understanding behind a mixed fleet – at least to begin with. It can be argued that some rural areas may not yet have the charging infrastructure to support electric postal vehicles.
In addition, an ICE vehicle could serve better during harsh winter climates. However, a 10% commitment to a “mixed fleet” looks like a slap in the face. Such a small part of a potentially huge contract looks more like an appeasement than a genuine rally towards zero emissions.
Louis DeJoy says the USPS has agreed to commit $ 500 million to convert ICE vehicles to electric vehicles someday. However, this looks like a scam that will end up costing the government more in the long run. Either way, it could end up being someone else’s problem, especially as President Biden is being urged by House Democrats to fill vacancies on the USPS board.
The White House has yet to comment. Although, the majority on the board would offer a tremendous opportunity for the Biden administration to put its federal electric fleet plans back on track. Let’s keep an eye on that and see.
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