EPB Hybrid Trucks

Chattanooga TN (WDEF) – EPB is testing new hybrid vehicle technology. The goal is to reduce the pollution and operational costs for the heaviest trucks.

Unlike the conventional trucks, the three new plug-in hybrid trucks can turn their diesel engines off to use an electrical power "takeoff unit" to operate the 55-foot boom.

"It’s very good for the environment, first of all, because the diesel engines aren’t running all the time," said Wendell Boring, EPB Field Operations. "It’s good for our customers, because they don’t hear them running all the time. If we go out in the middle of the night, once we arrive you would never hear the truck running until we’ve cranked it up to leave."

The U.S. Department of Energy granted these heavy vehicles, along with three other plug-in hybrid vans, which are used by EPB Fiber Optics installers.