In the last year, new federal and state incentive programs for EV infrastructure have made electrification possible for many more school districts across the country. While these programs often provide incentives for both battery electric buses and charging equipment, setting up a charging depot can have unexpected costs such as site or utility grid upgrades.
What do you do when your project costs exceed your grant funding? How do you avoid leaving money on the table and get the projects over the finish line? One strategy is flexible, turnkey solutions such as Charging as a Service from The Mobility House.
What is Charging as a Service?
Charging as a Service (CaaS) is a comprehensive solution for all EV fleet charging needs. We provide everything from installation and construction to charging operations and maintenance, energy costs, and equipment financing, all for a single fixed price-per-mile fee.
CaaS tackles the two main concerns of electrifying fleet operators: designing and installing an optimal charging system and managing charging operations. The Mobility House, as the CaaS provider, works with each fleet operator to create a customized charging system design, oversee hardware procurement and installation, and commission the EV charging system. Once the charging system is operating at your depot, we take on the responsibility of managing the charging system's operation, maintenance, and any upgrades to ensure reliable charging operations and the latest charging, providing guaranteed charging uptime.
With no upfront costs and a simple price-per-mile, school bus fleet operators can easily compare per-mile cost savings between your electric and diesel buses and incorporate the cost of charging your buses into your existing fuel budget.
How is your CaaS price determined?
CaaS is provided as a usage-based service fee – typically billed for each mile driven per vehicle. Each CaaS solution is customized to fit a specific fleet’s duty cycle and long-term electrification plans. The price-per-mile is calculated based on the service agreement length and is determined by the following criteria:
- Number of electric buses and their duty cycle
- Local electricity rates and incentive programs
- Current site electrical infrastructure
This pricing model ensures fleet operators only pay for the charging service they use and ensures the price is reflective of their unique operational needs.
How to evaluate a CaaS proposal
As with any new technology investment, it’s important to know if your solution meets industry standards and offers a future-proof design. As you evaluate CaaS proposals, consider the below elements of a reliable, future-proof charging system:
- Charging uptime guarantee to ensure the charging system is reliable
- Charging and energy management system to lower peak load and reduce operational electricity costs
- Automated load management which ensures your charging system is optimized for the local electrical grid’s capacity and can accelerate charging system installation
- Technology agnostic system that prevents vendor lock-in, which provides the flexibility to add or swap out equipment in the future
- Ability to simulate charging scenarios with the proposed design to validate the design concept
- Timely customer support and ongoing monitoring, which will ensure that any issues are quickly resolved, and the system remains operational
By evaluating CaaS proposals based on these criteria, you can ensure that you're choosing a reliable, future-proof charging solution that meets your specific fleet's charging requirements and long-term electrification plans.
If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to download this example of a customized CaaS proposal or schedule a meeting with our team to discuss your unique electrification needs.