US Congress Plans To Fund EV Purchases For USPS, Zero Emissions Postal Delivery

USPS will have postal service with zero emission cars. (photo: twitter @usps)

JAKARTA - Committees in the US Congress announced on Wednesday, March 30, that they will hold an April 5 session in the US. This is in connection with the US Postal Service (USPS) plans to purchase electric vehicles. The proposal comes as lawmakers hope to encourage the purchase of more zero-emissions postal delivery trucks.

Last week, the USPS said it had placed an initial order of $2.98 billion for the purchase of 50.000 next-generation delivery vehicles from Oshkosh Corp. Of that number, at least 10.019 of them are electric vehicles (EV). This amount is double the initial plan to purchase an EV. But some MPs feel it is not enough.

Congressional Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney said the USPS "must lead, and not lag behind, private companies that are already moving forward to save money and curb climate change by upgrading their fleet."

Previously, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy had committed to buying at least 10% EVs as part of a billion-dollar plan to retire 30-year-old old delivery vehicles.

The hearing will involve USPS Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb and USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Program Executive Director, Victoria Stephen,

Congress has considered providing the USPS with $5.9 billion to boost purchases of EVs and charging infrastructure for electric cars.

The USPS in February rejected offers by the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its plans to buy mostly gasoline-powered vehicles and hold new public hearings on the environmental consequences of purchasing those vehicles.

In February 2021, the USPS announced an initial $482 million contract for Oshkosh and said it could order up to 165.000 vehicles over 10 years in deals worth $6 billion or more.

The USPS estimates the total cost to purchase and operate 75.000 new delivery vehicles over 20 years including refueling and maintenance at 9.3 billion US dollars (IDR 133 trillion) for gasoline-powered vehicles and 11.6 billion US dollars (IDR 166.4 trillion) for the electric model.

In 2019, the USPS operated 217.000 vehicles covering an estimated 1.2 billion miles and spent an estimated 706.2 million US dollars (IDR 10.1 trillion) on maintenance costs for its fleet of 140.000 older delivery vehicles.

The USPS said its commitment to "electric fleets remains ambitious given the urgent vehicle and safety needs of our aging fleet and our fragile financial condition."