OneCharge, a leading provider of lithium motive batteries for the materials handling industry, and Ecotec, a provider of energy-efficient battery charging solutions, have been approved for Southern California Edison's Charge Ready Transport program.
The SCE program covers most or all of the customers' costs for electric infrastructure needed up to the charging station. The five-year program has authorised up to USD30 million specifically for forklifts.
To be eligible,the applicant must be within the SCE service territory; purchase or lease two or more electric forklifts within 18 months of signing the agreement; procure, own, install and operate the charging stations for 10 years; and have easement access.

The zero-emission voucher incentive benchmarks for clean off-road equipment projects range from USD15,000 for forklifts with capacities from 8,001 - 12,000 lb. to $150,000 for machines with capacities over 33,000 lb.

OneCharge points out that electric forklifts cost less to own over their lifetime than comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) forklifts. Modern electric forklifts also perform on par with their ICE counterparts, while being safer and less expensive to operate under most circumstances.

"Energy efficiency and security is perhaps the most underrated of all the advantages of electric forklift trucks. The US still imports millions of gallons of oil on a daily basis. Slowly and surely, electric forklifts (along with electric cars) are helping reduce the need for the US to rely so much on foreign imports," a spokesman explains. "Electric forklifts are helping to fill the void with reliable, safe, and efficient transportation - all with a better overall economic benefit."