In Fremont, PG&E Helps Launch Another Vehicle-to-Grid Electric School Bus Fleet

Big news in Fremont: Fremont Unified School District is leading the way in clean transportation by launching a smart fleet of electric school buses that can do more than just drive kids to school — they can also send energy back to the grid.

Thanks to a strong partnership with PG&E and The Mobility House, the school district is now part of a cutting-edge program that helps power the community while keeping students safe and reducing pollution.

What’s new?

The school district now has 14 electric school buses — four Thomas buses and 10 Bluebirds — that are cleaner and quieter than traditional diesel buses. These buses are replacing  six older gas-powered buses, with four new electric buses arriving this year and two more coming in 2026.

To support this fleet, PG&E helped install 22 chargers at the school district’s transportation yard. These include:

• 14 low-power chargers already in place

• six high-power chargers that can send energy back to the grid (three installed now, three more coming later this year)

• two more high-power chargers coming in 2026

“This project is a shining example of how innovation creates a cleaner, smarter energy future,” said Mike Delaney, vice president, Utility Partnership and Innovation, PG&E. “We’re proud to support Fremont USD and school districts across California as they convert to better, electrified student transportation.”

Why is this a big deal?

These buses don’t just charge — they can also discharge energy back to the grid when it’s needed most. That’s called vehicle-to-grid  technology. It helps balance energy use and can even support emergency power needs.

PG&E worked fast to upgrade the site’s power system, including:

• Installing a 750 kVA transformer to increase the site’s potential power capacity

• Upgrading the voltage from 208V to 480V

• Adding a 2,500 Amp switchgear to handle future growth

This means the school district can keep adding more electric buses without worrying about running out of power.

“Electric school buses, with their large batteries and predictable schedules, have tremendous potential to support the electric grid with V2G,” said Gregor Hintler, CEO North America of The Mobility House. “We are proud to provide the technology that enables the district to drive clean and support community energy resilience.”

Meet the brains behind the operation

The Mobility House is leading the project, called RVXDS (Replicable Vehicle to X Deployment), funded by the California Energy Commission. The Mobility House's smart software, ChargePilot, helps manage when buses charge and discharge. It also connects to PG&E’s Emergency Load Reduction Program, so the buses can support the grid during peak times.

ChargePilot uses open standards and works with partners like Polara, World Resources Institute, Center for Transportation and the Environment, and PG&E to make this project a success.

PG&E’s role

PG&E has been a proud partner from the start, helping:

• speed up their power upgrades to energize this site before the first day of the 2025-26 school year on Aug. 14

• provide incentives through its EV Fleet program, which supports schools and businesses to adopt electric vehicles 

• Enroll in the Emergency Load Reduction Program, allowing the school to earn money by sharing energy during peak demand

This is the second school district in our V2X pilot program, following Oakland Unified School District’s partnership with Zum.

What’s next?

The Fremont school district is just getting started. With smart charging, clean buses and strong community support, they’re building a future where schools help power the grid — and protect the planet.

“We’ve already seen how the electric buses can contribute to cleaner air for our community,” said Ernest Epley, the district's director of transportation. “Now, we have the opportunity to use these buses to deliver clean and reliable energy too.”

PG&E is proud to support this journey and looks forward to helping more schools go electric.