USPS electric fleet push sparks cost, security and job concerns

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Postal Service is pushing forward with a major electric fleet overhaul funded partly by the Inflation Reduction Act, but an energy-policy expert warns rising costs could hit taxpayers and customers.

EV chargers are being installed at a Bloomington facility as the U.S. Postal Service electrifies part of its 260,000-vehicle fleet.

The $3 billion the USPS received from the Inflation Reduction Act covers only a third of the more than $9 billion needed, a gap Heritage Foundation analyst Diana Furchtgott-Roth says will likely push USPS back to Congress for more funding.

“It was a poor decision. USPS vehicles run for hours at a time, and if they run out of power mid-route, it’s difficult to recharge them,” said Furchtgott-Roth. “Shorter routes that allow overnight charging are one thing, but these electric vehicles cost more, don’t help the climate, and ultimately stick taxpayers with higher costs and higher postal rates. The whole operation would be cheaper with gas-powered vehicles.”

USPS spokesperson Tim Norman told The Center Square the agency has already ordered 51,500 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs), including 35,000 battery-electric models, and has also purchased 9,250 Ford E-Transit electric vans, with more than 8,800 already delivered.

The Postal Service’s main supplier, Oshkosh Defense, won the contract in 2021 to build up to 165,000 NGDVs over 10 years.

Beyond cost, Furchtgott-Roth raised alarms about the Chinese-made batteries that power many electric vehicles purchased by federal agencies and U.S. automakers.

“And the Chinese Communist Party has the potential to put spying equipment in them and track the telematics. If we do have electric vehicles, these vehicles should have completely U.S.-made batteries, like those from a company called Sparkz,” said Furchtgott-Roth. “Norwegians have found kill switches in some of these Chinese-made EV batteries. In the event of a conflict over Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party, which owns stakes in major companies like CATL [Contemporary Amperex Technology] and BYD [Build Your Dreams] Auto, could remotely disable the vehicles or tamper with their navigation or braking systems. This is not something we want to rely on.”

Furchtgott-Roth argued that if the U.S. government insists on continuing EV deployment, it should require 100% American-made batteries, referencing companies like Sparkz, whose advisory board she serves on, that source and process lithium inside the United States.

Privatizing the USPS has been debated for decades, including during the Reagan administration, when Furchtgott-Roth served in the White House. She said privatization may be “ideal,” but political realities make it unlikely anytime soon.

“There are strong pressures against privatization,” Furchtgott-Roth said. “But USPS doesn’t have to be privatized in order to stop this push toward electric vehicles. They could pause electrification tomorrow.”

USPS has deployed 5,000 new vehicles in Illinois, including 200 NGDVs, but no electric models have reached Bloomington yet. Charging stations in Bloomington are under construction, with delivery dates still unconfirmed.

Critics warn USPS electrification could hurt workers. Furchtgott-Roth cited plant shutdowns and the shift from gas to electric vehicles causing major job losses.

“But now the trend is reversing. Chinese battery companies in the U.S. are going out of business because they no longer qualify for the tax credit,” said Furchtgott-Roth.