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With the rising cost of fuel and the pressure from regulatory agencies to reduce emissions, maybe it is time to reevaluate the cost of converting to an electric GSE fleet. The transition to electric—though costly in the initial outlay of capital dollars—can bring immediate savings to operational budgets. When planned and implemented correctly, the benefits of electrical equipment can also be seen in non-cash savings. Employee health, for example, will greatly improve because of the reduction of noise and gas emissions in the work environment. Another non-cash benefit of operating an electric fleet is the passenger’s positive opinion toward environmentally-friendly companies.

Vehicle Types

Currently the most economical vehicles to electrify are bag tugs, beltloaders, narrow-body aircraft tractors, and passenger stairs. Add to that list, FMC’s container loader and TLD’s wide-body aircraft tractor, which are currently under development and testing for operators of wide-body fleets.

The easiest GSE fleet to switch to electric are the gate tractor and the beltloader. There are many vehicles available to fill these roles from Charlatte, Tug, TLD, Harlan and others, and have been in successful operation for over a decade. These vehicles, when coupled with Fast Charging, can maintain duty cycles equivalent to their internal combustion counterparts.

Cost of Vehicles

The up-front cost of electric vehicles on average is about 30 to 35 percent more expensive than their gas counterparts. If the decision to convert to electric is made purely based on the initial cost, then it would not make sense to convert, but the true savings comes in the operation of electric vehicles.

Cost of Infrastructure

In addition to the higher cost, electric vehicles also require charging infrastructure. This infrastructure is actually less expensive than the corresponding infrastructure required to deliver gas to the airport, but since the gas infrastructure is already available at airports, that cost is rarely considered. If airports took a proactive approach to providing the charging infrastructure in the same way they provide the fueling infrastructure, then many more airlines and ground handlers would be operating electric vehicles.

Charging infrastructure can be expensive at an airport with little power available, but there are new ways of extracting power for charging without the need for additional infrastructure. Bridge power sharing is one option that is available. A jet bridge only uses the power that is supplied to 5 percent of the day, and the remaining 95 percent could be used for charging.

Cost of the Fuel

Fuel is the single most volatile cost in operating a gas fleet. In the last three years, fuel has been as low as $1.20 per gallon and as high as $3.20 per gallon. In the same time period, industrial electricity has averaged between 6.5 and 8 cents per kilowatt-hour.