Consultants tell Hendrick Hudson board full bus electrification possible by 2035 but district site work could cost about $3 million

Polera representatives told the Hendrick Hudson Central School District Board of Education that a NYSERDA‑funded Fleet Electrification Plan (FEP) shows the district can convert most routes to electric buses with phased infrastructure investments.

At the June 17 meeting, Pamela Russell, introduced herself as Polera’s business development manager, and described Polera’s turnkey approach—engineering, chargers, software and a financing arm—to support school‑bus electrification. Project manager David Blantz summarized the FEP’s findings: “With current technologies, 53 of the 64 vehicles can be achieved with EV and it’s anticipated that all 64 can be achievable by the year 2035.”

The consultants said the district’s current electrical capacity is insufficient for full fleet charging and that a new dedicated electrical service and transformer would likely be required to support future flexibility. Polera gave a high‑level cost estimate for the on‑site transition—chargers, infrastructure and construction—at about $3,000,000, and clarified that figure is a construction total that does not include available vouchers or rebates. “That is just total cost of construction,” Blantz said when board members asked whether the estimate accounted for incentives.

Polera also highlighted operational considerations: a mixed charger strategy (level 2 and high‑power DC), off‑peak charging to reduce demand charges, and a software platform (Cleo) that they said can optimize charging schedules and alert managers if a vehicle is not charging as expected. The presenters noted incentives from NYSERDA and utilities could offset both vehicle and infrastructure costs, and that some utility programs may cover certain grid‑side upgrades.

Board members asked about resiliency during multi‑day outages and phase timelines. Polera said that short outages (hours) are manageable for overnight charging, but prolonged outages could require contingency planning and that phase timing has not been finalized. The presenters recommended phasing work to begin with facility upgrades and pilot installations before larger investments.

The superintendent’s office and board members thanked Polera for the analysis and said the FEP gives the district a road map to capture incentives when they are available and to inform longer‑range capital planning.