Executive Summary: November 13th AEG/ACT Northeast Clean Transportation Summit Citywide Fleet Electrification Stakeholder Challenge
Overview
Held on November 13th, 2025 at Con Edison in New York, eighty-five public and private industry leaders convened for the 2025 AEG/ACT Northeast Clean Transportation Summit. The purpose of this challenge was to: 1.) Align on a critical obstacle regarding fleet electrification affecting the Northeast; Regionally and NYC Citywide 2.) Engage as cross sector teams to agree on a 90 day sprint and 12-month goal. 3.) Empower leaders to deliver the solution and present the outcome at the 2026 AEG/ACT Northeast Clean Transportation Summit.
Paris Apollon, Executive Director of Sustainability, NYC DCAS provided opening remarks to frame the discussion surrounding NYC Citywide fleet electrification.
Opening remarks were followed by the Citywide Fleet Electrification Speaker Challenge, where each speaker provided a presentation that concluded with this completed statement: "Regarding citywide fleet electrification, a critical obstacle to collectively overcome in 12 months is _________."
5 KEY THEMES
1. Reduce Lifecycle Cost Uncertainty for CFOs and Fleet Decision-Makers
Fleets across the Northeast continue to struggle with complex lifecycle cost calculations driven by demand charges, fluctuating electricity prices, and evolving maintenance assumptions. Delivering consistent, CFO-ready cost tools and transparent capex/opex comparisons is essential to accelerating fleet conversions.
“Financials are more complex for electric than diesel — fleets need clarity on fuel costs, demand charges, and infrastructure planning.” — John Markowitz, Senior Director, eMobility, NYPA
2. De-Risk the Electric Transition by Creating Stable Revenue Streams and Incentives
Fleets require predictable operating economics—particularly long-term revenue models for managed charging, V2G, and grid services—to maintain momentum in a climate of federal incentive sunset, tariff volatility, and OEM uncertainty. Clear financial mechanisms can counter hesitation and prevent backsliding toward fossil technologies.
“A critical obstacle is maintaining momentum in a climate of uncertainty, by derisking the electric transition.” — Ryan Bossis, DNV
3. Accelerate Interconnection and Infrastructure Deployment to Meet Fleet Timelines
Slow, inconsistent, and costly interconnection processes remain one of the greatest barriers to siting charging infrastructure at the pace required for heavy-duty and mixed fleets. Streamlined permitting, pre-qualified sites, and future-proofed planning can dramatically shorten deployment cycles.
“A critical obstacle is the rapid, cost-effective installation of future-proofed charging infrastructure near key freight corridors.” – Peg Hanna, NJDEP
4. Strengthen Grid Capacity, Workforce Readiness, and Technical Standards
Regional fleet electrification hinges on grid availability, transformer upgrades, and a workforce trained to design, install, and maintain high-power charging systems. Aligning technical requirements and building local skilled labor capacity reduces project delays and improves long-term reliability.
“Even a fraction of school buses with bidirectional capability represents MWhs of storage capacity that the grid critically needs.” — Steve Letendre, VGIC
5. Improve Fleet Engagement Through Clear Communication, Education, and Demonstrated Use Cases
Misconceptions, limited staff capacity, and siloed stakeholder groups contribute to slow adoption, especially among fleets with constrained operational bandwidth. Elevating real-world successes, standardizing resources, and providing advisory support empowers fleets to participate confidently and at scale.
“Misconceptions, uncertainty, and lack of skilled workers continue to slow fleet participation — education is just as important as infrastructure.” — Word Cloud Poll, NECTS25 Participants
Inspired by the statement provided by Peg Hanna (NJDEP), participants agreed to prioritize this selected obstacle statement: “Urgent need for cost-effective, future-proofed charging infrastructure near key freight corridors, starting with the I-95 NE corridor - from MD to CT.” Participants then designed, and pitched a 90-day sprint and 12-month goal to best address this critical obstacle.
8 leaders formed a volunteer Task Force to complete a 90-day sprint:
Task Force Volunteers: Rex Hazelton, The Cadmus Group - Co-Lead, Dana Hopkins, Harbinger Motors - Co-Lead, Philip Jonat, WSP, Lauren Kastner, ICF, Salvatore Prestano, CSA Group, Kevin Miller, Bespoke Policy Solutions, Mike Porcelli, Bronx Community College, Yangbo Du, PLACE Initiative
To join this group of volunteers, please contact us at info@goadvancedenergy.com.
12-MONTH TASK FORCE UPDATE
The 12-month deliverable of the 2024 AEG Northeast Fleet Electrification Task Force is the development and launch of the Northeast Regional Fleet Zero Emission Collaborative, a multi-fleet partnership designed to accelerate medium- and heavy-duty electrification across key load zones. Over the past year, the task force has convened regularly, identified fleet-to-fleet connections as the most impactful accelerant for ZEV adoption, and created a formal “Letter of Collaboration” for fleets to signal their commitment to shared learning, resource exchange, and coordinated infrastructure planning. This emerging Collaborative provides a structured pathway for fleets to engage utilities, community organizations, and OEMs, while enabling the region to build actionable insights for scaling electrification where it is most urgently needed. As the group prepares to reconvene in Q1 2026, the Collaborative stands as both a milestone achievement and a foundation for collective, data-driven progress toward a cleaner and more resilient transportation future.
To support this initiative, learn more and sign the Letter of Collaboration here.
Conclusion
The 2025 AEG/ACT Northeast Clean Transportation Summit convened utilities, fleet operators, state agencies, technology partners, and community leaders to confront the most urgent barriers to regional fleet electrification. The Regional Fleet Electrification Stakeholder Challenge discussion underscored the need to demystify lifecycle costs for decision-makers, derisk long-term fleet investments, accelerate interconnection and infrastructure deployment, and strengthen grid and workforce readiness across diverse fleet segments. As volunteer task force members move forward with a coordinated 90-day sprint, their shared commitment to collaboration, transparency, and measurable progress will be essential to delivering a cleaner, more resilient, and cost-effective fleet future for the Northeast.
Access to private resource pages, which include speaker presentations, and survey responses, from AEG Stakeholder Challenges is reserved for Signature Sponsors and City/Government Partners. To become a Signature Sponsor, learn more here: https://aeg.team/engage
