Energy has always been a cost factor in trucking, especially diesel. A cost you endure, not a core competence you build. That’s changing right now…
⛽ With diesel, you never had any leverage. You paid whatever your supplier or fuel card dictated. Sure, you could optimise your fuel card, negotiate a framework agreement, maybe squeeze out three percent. But that was it. That’s why the diesel floater exists, to hedge against price swings you can’t control.
🔌 With electric trucks that charge at your own depot, the game is completely different. Your own PV on the roof, a battery storage unit on site paired with a dynamic electricity tariff where you buy power during the cheapest hours and shave peak loads through load management. Suddenly you can actively control your energy price. A 10 to 20 percent difference in depot electricity costs is no witchcraft. Not because electricity is cheaper, but because you can manage it in ways you never could with diesel.
⚡ Right now, this is still a genuine competitive advantage. If you run a well managed depot, you can offer transport prices that a diesel operator simply cannot match. But this window is closing fast. Once enough fleets go electric, energy management won’t be a differentiator anymore. It becomes operational excellence first, then a core competence for everyone. Whether you build that yourself or bring in a partner to manage it for you is a matter of preference. But there’s no way around it. Will there be an electricity floater? I’ll get into that in my next post.
🦾 But whoever leaves these advantages on the table today isn’t just paying more. They’re missing the learning curve at a point where small mistakes are still forgivable. Buy a system in three years that keeps you in the game, and you’ve already lost the big advantage. Because you’re back to seeing a cost factor you endure, instead of the competence you build.
