E-Drive Bill

The e-Drive bill would provide up to $2 billion for an Energy Department program in which vehicle manufacturers would compete for grants to build electric vehicles for immediate deployment by the U.S. Postal Service, operator of the nation’s largest civilian fleet. Besides the environmental benefits and vast fuel savings the program would achieve, the bill’s passage would also position the Postal Service fleet as a key energy storage asset for the nation’s power grid. Through Smart Grid technologies, new and converted electric postal vehicles would serve as power storage devices for the grid, helping ease peak loads and storing energy from intermittent or fluctuating sources, like wind power systems.

There are two Phases of the e-Drive program. Phase I lasts 3.5 years and involves a highly competitive solicitation for electric vehicles (EVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and electric and PHEV powertrains for conversions. The best performing solution(s) are rewarded with a large Phase II contract. Each phase procures approximately 10,000 electric drive vehicles (or powertrains that are used in conversions of existing LLVs) and 12,000 charging stations. An overview of the highly competitive Phase I is below: