After years of delay, New Orleans adds first electric vehicles to city fleet

Even as other member cities snapped up dozens of vehicles, New Orleans stalled, citing uncertainty about whether out-of-state vehicle purchases through the collaborative would comply with state laws. It was a hang-up none of the other 500 local governments in the collaborative had encountered, according the Electrification Coalition, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that manages the collaborative.

Whatever issues New Orleans was having, they appear to have been ironed out in recent weeks.

Three of the EVs will go to the New Orleans Police Department for use in the French Quarter as part of the Supplemental Police Patrol Program. Two EVs will go to the Safety and Permits Department, and one each will be handed over to the Historic District Landmarks Commission, New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board, Code Enforcement Department, Resilience and Sustainability Office and Parks and Parkways Department.

Council member Helena Moreno praised the purchases.

“As we said when we passed the clean fleets law last year, a zero-emissions city fleet isn’t just good for the climate, it’s also good for the city’s budget,” said Moreno, who chairs the climate committee. “Clean vehicles are cheaper to fuel, cheaper to operate and require less maintenance downtime.”

Her praise for EVs was echoed by other purchasing collaborative members. City officials in Austin, Texas said the 270 EVs they purchased through the collaborative have exceeded expectations, saving the city about $5 million in maintenance and fuel costs each year.

A typical mid-sized EV car costs about $550 to power each year, and will likely produce less than 3 tons of emissions if tied to a power grid that uses fossil fuels, according to the Electrification Coalition. A gas-only car costs twice as much to fuel and produces three times the emissions.

Before purchasing the 10 EVs, the New Orleans city fleet got an average of 19 miles per gallon, according to an administration report in December. Two vehicles were electric-gas hybrids and one was a sedan that could run on a blend of gas and ethanol. The rest were gas or diesel-powered.