Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 4

R M | C O O P E R AT I O N

photo by Jim McCarty

Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative Manager of Member Services Travis Mathes, left, and Director Larry Clark, right, joined
Knox County R-1 School District Superintendent Andy Turgeon in showing off the district's electric school bus in March.

Dawn of the electric bus

Electric bus another first for Lewis County Electric

O

n July 29, 1937, Lewis County Rural
Electric Cooperative made history by energizing the first electric cooperative line in
Missouri. The cooperative made history
again recently when it welcomed Missouri's first
electric school bus to its lines.
The event held March 19 showed off the electric bus that now is transporting students at Knox
County R-1 School District in Edina. The bus
looks like any other school bus with its bright yellow paint and black stripes. What's missing is the
diesel exhaust - and a lot of future maintenance
costs says Superintendent Andy Turgeon.
" The cost of ownership through the life of the
bus will show this is a lot cheaper in the long run, "
he says. " We've actually been researching it for several years. I said if we could get enough grant money, we would do a pilot. Now we are keeping data
for it and seeing what we can find out. "
Andy worked with Travis Mathes, Lewis County's manager of member services who was determined to make the project a reality. " For us it's
economic development, " Travis says. " It's good for

4

everyone involved, good for the school district, good
for the electric co-op, good for the students. "
Working with power supplier Associated Electric, Travis helped find grants from the Department
of Natural Resources VW Mitigation Trust Fund
and USDA's Disaster Relief program. In addition,
rebates from Associated, Lewis County REC and
CoBank made the bus a no-brainer for the school.
Knox County's out-of-pocket cost was just $7,500
for what is a $338,000 bus.
The electric bus uses just 20 parts for power compared to the more than 2,000 in a diesel
engine. It has no emissions and is so quiet speakers broadcast a tone so students know it's moving.
Its four batteries give it a range of 125 miles, well
within the school's longest route. It can even help
power the school during an outage.
Data will be shared with other school districts
considering the switch, including nearby Lewis
County C-1 School District, which put an electric
bus into service in April. To date, it shows the
electric bus costs 13 cents per mile to operate compared to 31 cents for a diesel bus.

RURAL MISSOURI | MAY 2021

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4/7/21 11:06 AM



Rural Missouri - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - May 2021

Contents
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - Contents
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 4
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 5
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 6
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 7
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 8
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 9
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 10
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 11
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Rural Missouri - May 2021 - 54
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - May 2021 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201609
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