Lake Oswego School District awarded four new electric school buses through PGE fund

The Lake Oswego School District has four new electric school buses joining its fleet at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

The four type-C electric school buses were awarded to the district through Portland General Electric’s 2023 Electric School Bus Fund. PGE is responsible for the “incremental cost of the electric school buses,” which is the difference between the cost of a standard diesel bus and a new electric bus. PGE will also fund the charging infrastructure at the district’s new transportation facility currently under construction.

“Portland General Electric is excited to award funds from Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Oregon Clean Fuels Program to support our partners in expanding cleaner transportation systems across the state,” said Elyssia Lawrence, senior manager of PGE’s transportation electrification team, in a press release. “Transportation electrification plays an essential role in accelerating the clean energy transition. It is going to take all of us working together to achieve a cleaner and more equitable future for all Oregonians.”

PGE’s Electric School Bus Fund is financed by DEQ’s Oregon Clean Fuels program, which sells Clean Fuel Credits to support Oregon school districts in electrification.

“We are honored to receive this funding, which allows us to fulfill a promise to use electric buses in serving our students,” LOSD Superintendent Jennifer Schiele said in the release. “Our commitment to integrating electric buses into our transportation service at its new location aligns with our district’s dedication to teaching and practicing sustainability, a value shared by our community and school district. We thank our transportation partner, Student Transportation of America, for the invaluable assistance in securing this funding and express gratitude to PGE for spearheading this program and allowing us to embrace this sustainable mode of transportation.”