The Lion Electric Company announced July 30 that Green Mountain Power (GMP) of Vermont will purchase two all-electric trucks – a Lion8 bucket truck for line crews and a Lion6 stake body truck for electrical maintenance field crews. GMP is among the first utilities in New England to receive all-electric heavy-duty trucks for its fleet. 

Lion Electric expects to deliver the first truck to GMP in the first half of 2022, and the second one is scheduled to arrive next summer. Adopting electric trucks creates savings for operators, including reduced maintenance costs by up to 60%, and energy costs by up to 80%, Lion Electric officials said in a press release. Additionally, the bucket truck and its auxiliary systems run entirely off the vehicle’s battery pack, eliminating emissions and noise pollution. The bucket truck has a range of 130 miles, and the stake truck can go 200 miles on a charge. 

Marc Bedard, CEO and founder of Lion Electric, said, “With reduced emissions and noise pollution, these trucks will eliminate emissions in the communities where they operate while saving on fleet costs, and we look forward to growing our relationship with GMP in the future.” 

“Electrifying our heavy-duty field operations fleet to reduce carbon emissions as we travel the state keeping the lights on and building a more resilient grid is a critical next step in our work to eliminate fossil fuels from our operations,” said Mari McClure, president and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “Transportation with fossil-fueled vehicles is the top source of carbon emissions in Vermont and we’re proud to start the process of converting our line truck fleet to clean electric trucks.”