About Our Transit Electrification Programs
As transit agencies move towards electrification, they face unique challenges in contracting and implementation.
Multi-phase & year programs
Full transition to electric fleets typically takes 10-15 years, aligning with bus life expectancy. Separate procurements for each phase can lead to poorly integrated systems and short-sighted design decisions.
Rapid industry development
Conventional procurement methods struggle to define clear project scopes and operational requirements due to rapid technological changes, limiting flexibility for incorporating new technology and long-term planning.
Operations and maintenance risks
Electrification introduces new operational challenges for transit operators, particularly in maintenance, energy expenses, and safety. Most operators lack experience with specialized equipment like pantograph charging interfaces.
To address these challenges, ensure safety and reliability, and prevent costly delays or redesigns, it's crucial to contract an infrastructure operator early in the planning process.
Enabling risk transfer
Deep involvement in design and construction allows PowerON to ensure that charging and associated infrastructure is integrated into each facility's design, and to guarantee performance and operating costs.
Why choose PowerON for Fleet Electrification?
Public Sector Compliant Procurement
PowerON operates the only active vendor of record (VOR) program for transit electrification equipment and services in Canada. The program uses multiple pre-qualified vendors for each major item typically required for electrification projects, providing schedule reliability and volume price discounts while maintaining flexibility of choice and new technology adaptation.
All vendor and subcontractor costs are open-book and transparent to our partners.
Electricity cost guarantees
Our Guarantees
PowerON offers an electricity cost guarantees in applicable jurisdictions and for strategic projects. We achieve this through:
- Careful infrastructure and operational planning to right-size systems based on an intimate understanding of operations, and
- Our deep understanding of energy markets
Global Adjustment
(for Ontario Transit Operators)
As transit facilities electrify, they soon find themselves subject to a new rate class in which Global Adjustment makes up the largest portion of their electricity bills. If adequately involved in infrastructure planning and operations, PowerON can guarantee that Global Adjustment costs are minimized or eliminated altogether, resulting in an estimated annual savings of $800K - 2.5Million/year for a 260 bus facility depending on operating schedules.
Asset revenue generation and profit sharing
Battery storage and onsite generation are often required for resiliency and backup purposes. These microgrid costs can be offset by identifying and capitalizing on ways to realize additional value from these assets.
Knowledge-sharing and Capacity Building among Transit staff
Knowledge-sharing and capacity-building are critical to successful transit electrification programs. PowerON's collaborative approach allows transit staff to learn in a low-risk environment so that they can safely expand responsibilities over time should they choose to do so.
Our partners also benefit from the learning of PowerON's other partners across Canada, including first-hand experience in infrastructure planning and with equipment from various manufacturers.