FirstEnergy launches Maryland $11.1M school bus EV V2G pilot; Pennsylvania auction protections

Maryland pilot aims to electrify school fleets and test grid resilience

Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., is launching an $11.1 million pilot program to help Maryland school systems replace diesel buses with zero-emission electric vehicles and to test vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services. The Maryland Public Service Commission approves the five-year initiative, which begins in early 2026 and covers the typical incremental cost of about $250,000 per bus. Funded incentives are sufficient for up to 28 electric buses within Potomac Edison’s service territory and also pay for charging equipment and required electrical upgrades.

The program pairs financial support with hands-on technical and administrative assistance to help districts identify charging locations, install equipment and train personnel. Potomac Edison frames the pilot as a tool to help schools comply with the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which requires future purchases or contracts to be zero-emission vehicles. The utility says the move is intended to deliver quieter rides for students, improve local air quality and offer long-term operational savings for districts that shift away from diesel.

V2G functionality is a central test element of the pilot, with buses’ stored battery energy potentially flowing back to the grid while vehicles are idle to bolster reliability during emergencies. Jim Myers, FirstEnergy’s president for West Virginia and Maryland, says the program reduces upfront costs and provides hands-on support to make the transition more practical and affordable, while exploring V2G benefits for customers across the counties served. Potomac Edison serves about 285,000 customers in Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery and Washington counties and encourages stakeholders to follow pilot updates on its website and social channels as deployment and V2G performance data are gathered.

Pennsylvania filing introduces auction schedule and market protections

FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA) files a new Default Service Plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission outlining how it will procure generation supply for more than two million default customers starting June 1, 2027. The plan keeps competitive auctions administered by CRA International to set the “price to compare,” schedules three auctions in 2027 and two annually from 2028 through 2031, and sets large industrial default customers to an hourly market‑based price.

FE PA says the filing adds customer safeguards to reduce the risk of inadvertent rollovers and unexpected rate spikes, and will automatically return residential customers to the utility’s standard default rate at the end of fixed-term supplier contracts. John Hawkins, president of FE PA, says the measures aim to provide clarity and limit the risk of overpaying while acknowledging the company cannot control wholesale generation prices.