Commercial truckers can now power up with electrical outlets

As part of Friday's open house at the Baker Truck Corral, Sharon Banks, CEO and founder of Cascade Sierra Solutions, shows one of the electrical outlets set up for use by truckers and RV travelers.

The Baker Truck Corral is helping commercial truck drivers abide by a state law soon prohibiting long periods of engine idling.

The electricity will cost $1 an hour and drivers can use an automated kiosk to pay by card. They also could connect using a smart phone, laptop computer or more conventional telephone activation system.

Business owner Kurt Miller has been looking to add electrical access for a few years now. He envisioned it as a service his truck-driving customers would appreciate. The pedestals were easier than other forms of transmission that have been available to sell at truck stops, he found out through research.

Not many of the truckers realize the outlets have been there for weeks, however, he said.

He’s been busy trying to get the word out. For example, he did an interview about the outlets with a radio station in Cincinnati. The interview also aired on XM radio. The Truck Corral has a website and Facebook page where the project has been written about as well.

“Hopefully truckers will want to visit Baker City — and visit more of Baker City — because of the pedestals,” Miller said.

A permanent display informing drivers about the outlets will go up soon, he said.

“We’re in a perfect location to be an intermodal hub” for truck drivers, said Greg Smith, Baker County’s economic development director.

Miller also talked about how the outlets should attract more business throughout the community from others passing through.

Half of the outlets are far away from the buildings, where truck drivers park during the night. The rest of the outlets are next to the Truck Corral’s 24-hour restaurant and mini-market. These outlets could be used by people driving recreational vehicles.

People traveling in RVs also need inexpensive electricity. The outlets could encourage them to spend money throughout the city and county before moving on, Miller said.

Drivers can choose from 120, 208 or 240 AC voltage sources.

This Baker City business is the first of 50 truck stops around the country that are part of a federally funded program to help reduce truck idling. The plan is to have the rest of the businesses offering these outlets within the next 18 months.

Oregon’s anti-idle law takes effect Jan. 1. It was approved during the last legislative session as a way to lessen air pollution caused by diesel trucks idling for hours at a time. Drivers caught idling engines for more than five minutes within an hour could be required to pay a fine beginning in the new year.

Many states and communities have similar rules, though some locations around the nation allow truck idling when the weather is extremely hot or cold or when the drivers load and unload cargo.

Oregon is among them. But electricity provides a higher level of comfort at rest stops. It’s quieter than having to listen to an engine all night. It’s also easier to run medical equipment, such as sleep apnea machines, said one of the energy executives.

“It’s a little touch of the future,” said Jon Gustafson, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Cascade Sierra Solutions. The Eugene-based nonprofit organization works to save diesel fuel and to reduce these emissions.

Commercial trucks will rely more on electronic tools and gadgetry in the coming years. This is because companies with large fleets are expected to closely monitor the paths traveled by each vehicle.

And reducing diesel fuel use will continue becoming more important to the industry because half of the diesel used comes from outside the United States.

It’s not easy for business people to plan ahead when their main fuel price could unpredictably rise and fall, or not even be available because of conditions beyond the control of the U.S., Gustafson also said.

Encouraging use of electricity instead of power from the diesel engine for comfort and living needs inside the cab isn’t just better for the environment — it’s simply good business. Truck drivers are small business people who must carefully watch their expenses, said another executive.

“It’s not just a way to lower carbon and other toxic emissions,” said Sharon Banks, the CEO and founder of Cascade. “It provides a 70-percent cost savings over using an idling diesel engine to heat or cool the sleep cab for 8-10 hours. That’s thousands of dollars saved every year.”

Through the Shorepower Truck Electrification Project, STEP for short, truck stops can receive a complete system. The program is being administered by Cascade. Shorepower Technologies, a company with a Portland office that focuses on getting vehicles onto the electric grid, and Cascade, are working together under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Truck Corral is next to Interstate 84, which made it an appropriate site for the network of electrical outlets being planned for truck stops along well-traveled highways across the country.

STEP also will provide equipment-purchase incentives to vehicle owners who promise to use the hook-ups to reduce their engine idling.

The Portland-based EC Electrical Construction was the contractor for the work at the Corral. Local subcontracting resulted in several people being employed as the outlets were installed, said Jon Orrell, the company’s director of construction.

Newer cabs have built-in outlet connections. The Truck Corral also will be offering kits for truckers without them. Installation is expected to cost $100.

Drivers willing to run a heavy-duty extension cord from the outlet through an open cab window could connect the cord to an appliance itself.

On Friday, individuals and groups that worked to get the outlets installed at the truck stop spoke to various community members. And there was an open house celebration later in the day.

Speakers included State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, who was initially apprehensive about Oregon’s anti-idling concept until he realized it offered economic and environmental benefits.

“I’m looking forward to seeing a whole bunch of trucks lined up here,” he said.