No more gas! WPB joins other cities to get rid of gas-guzzling vehicles

West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio joins seven others to launch Energy Secure Cities Coalition to swap gas/diesel city vehicles for alternative fuel.

Mayor Muoio has joined seven other mayors in launching the Energy Secure Cities Coalition (ESCC), a group of cities dedicated to transitioning their municipal fleets from petroleum-fueled vehicles to those powered by alternative fuels, like electricity and natural gas.

For West Palm Beach, moving toward advanced fuels will offer budget relief while reducing its dependence on oil and exposure to the volatile global oil market; each ESCC community stands to save tens of millions of dollars in fuel and vehicle maintenance costs over the next decade. In addition to West Palm Beach, the Energy Secure Cities Coalition includes Atlanta, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Orlando, Fla.; Rochester, N.Y.; Sacramento Calif.; and San Diego, Calif.

The City of West Palm Beach was the first municipality in Florida to add electric vehicles to its fleet and is continuing to lead the alternative fuels transition for efficiency, to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, and build resilience. Together, the Energy Secure Cities Coalition will grow to 25 cities by 2025 with the goal of taking 50,000 petroleum-powered vehicles off the road, saving 500,000 barrels of oil every year and protecting city budgets from volatile and unpredictable global oil prices.

“West Palm Beach is committed to lowering our carbon footprint,” said Mayor Jeri Muoio. “That is why we have joined the Energy Secure Cities Coalition and pledged to transition our municipal vehicles off fossil fuels by 2025. A pledge to use alternative fuels for our city's vehicles is a pledge to ensure a sustainable future.”

By joining the Energy Secure Cities Coalition, West Palm Beach can take advantage of a network for cities to learn from each other before, during and after the fleet conversion process, participating in a forum in which municipalities can share best practices on communicating their goals, engaging their communities, recognizing obstacles and solving problems. The ESCC is a project of its member cities in collaboration with Securing America’s Future Energy and the Electrification Coalition. Learn more at www.energysecurecities.org.