Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Public Utilities Regulatory Authority

MHD Program

Medium and Heavy Duty Electric Vehicle Program

In Docket No. 21-09-17, PURA Investigation Into Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (Authority or PURA) established a five-year medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) electric vehicle (EV) Program (MHD EV Program)available to applicable customers within the service territories of The Connecticut Light and Power Company d/b/a Eversource Energy (Eversource) and The United Illuminating Company (UI; collectively, the Companies or EDCs). The August 13, 2025 Decision establishing the MHD EV Program is available here: 21-09-17 Final Decision. The key program elements consist of (1) fleet advisory services (FAS), (2) MHD EV specific rates available for Commercial and Industrial customers to serve the entire requirements of MHD Fleet EV charging stations, and (3) an incentive pilot that supports up to two demonstration projects, per EDC service territory, for electrification of school buses in disadvantaged communities (DACs). CALSTART was selected as the program administrator via open solicitation.

The Electric School Bus (ESB) Charging Infrastructure Demonstration Program supports up to four demonstration projects that will inform future statewide deployment. Demonstration Project Awardees must comply with the requirements outlined by PURA, CALSTART, and the EDCs.

 

Eligibility Summary

An applicant must:

  1. Be a public school district, municipality, Board of Education, or third-party operator serving Connecticut schools.

  1. Deploy at least two (2) battery electric school buses.

  1. Demonstrate that the project site is in or that ≥50% of mileage occurs within a DAC.

  1. Submit a Fleet Electrification Plan or equivalent.

  1. Pursue all eligible funding sources and avoid prohibited duplication of funding.

 

The MHD EV Decision establishes clear goals for the pilot projects, directing them to generate actionable insights that will inform future planning, rate design, infrastructure development, and equity outcomes. Specifically, the projects are intended to produce insights related to:

  • Identifying siting, design, interconnection, and engineering challenges that may affect broader deployment.

  • Documenting construction timelines, development considerations, and best practices that can streamline future projects.

  • Capturing real-world charging behavior, load profiles, and operational data needed to understand system impacts.

  • Validating the Scenario 1 rate design and evaluating its suitability for ESB fleets.

  • Assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of managed charging strategies in real-world fleet operations.

  • Evaluating cost-benefit implications for taxpayers, including impacts on load management and infrastructure planning.

  • Understanding impacts and benefits for DACs in support of equity and environmental justice goals.

 

To achieve these goals, the demonstration projects are additionally structured to:

  • Collect standardized datasets on charging profiles, operational characteristics, system impacts, and associated costs to ensure consistent, comparable analysis.

  • Prioritize deployments in communities disproportionately affected by transportation emissions, ensuring the pilots advance equitable outcomes.

  • Protect ratepayers by limiting early-stage capital commitments until pilot results are available to guide larger-scale investment.

 

The anticipated Implementation Manual release and beginning of application period is May 1, 2026. The application can be found using this link. 

Applications will be open through July 15, 2026, with anticipatedselection by October 31, 2026.