Room: International AB
Sponsor(s)
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Session Description
It is often said that purchasing zero emission buses is the most straightforward part of making the switch to zero. Downstream challenges and misinformation about the infrastructure and technology required to support your transition can dampen even the most ambitious of desires to decarbonize. In this session, we will explore the practical requirements and best-in-class approaches to ensuring your agency is ‘rightsizing’ ZEB infrastructure and technology deployments to match where your agency is on its journey.
Fleet electrification often faces two critical roadblocks: insufficient power capacity and budget constraints. This presentation explores how innovative energy solutions can overcome these challenges, using the Toronto Transit Commission’s McNicoll Garage as a case study.
Learn how PowerON implemented an integrated solution combining battery energy storage systems and smart charging management to:
– Increase effective charging capacity by 56% without utility service upgrades
– Defer $1.2 million in utility upgrade costs
– Reduce timeline to operations by 8-14 months
– Support 36 electric buses with nine 150-kW DC fast chargers despite grid constraints
– Set the foundation for over $310,000 in annual savings through Global Adjustment avoidance and grid services
The session will detail how these approaches can be applied by other transit agencies facing similar challenges, and how they lay the groundwork for larger-scale electrification. We’ll explore both technical aspects of the solution and the business case that made it successful, providing attendees with practical strategies to accelerate their own electrification initiatives despite grid limitations.
Speaker(s) / Presenter(s)
Tyler Seed – PowerON Energy Solutions
Tyler Seed is Senior Manager, Business Development at PowerON Energy Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation. Tyler brings extensive commercial development expertise in the clean energy sector, having helped launch PowerON and secure major partnerships with transit agencies including the Toronto Transit Commission, Oakville Transit, and Durham Region Transit. He plays a key role in developing transit electrification solutions that enable operators to overcome grid constraints and accelerate fleet electrification. Previously, Tyler worked at OPG where he helped launch the Ivy Charging Network and secured over $100 million in contracts and $10 million in government funding for clean energy initiatives.
Moneeb is the Head of North America, Transit OEMs and Aftermarket Sales, for ABB E-Mobility in Canada. Moneeb has been with ABB E-Mobility since 2019 having held various positions in sales, where he was respon-sible for account management and business development for electric buses, trucks, and car customers in Can-ada and the US. Since 2021, Moneeb has been leading the sales team in Canada to continue the electrification of the fleets, public transit, school bus, and coach bus markets. Prior to his experience at ABB, Moneeb was an Application Engineer at Emerson Electric in Toronto. Moneeb is a Professional Engineer and a member of the PEO. Moneeb earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemi-cal Engineering from McGill University in 2015. With over ten years of experience in the zero-emissions industry, Moneeb has been promoting clean energy to help in the fight against climate change. Moneeb brings extensive experience in finding safe, reliable, and effi-cient solutions in the electrification of transport. He is a founding member of the EV charging system at Electro-Federation Canada (EFC). He is also an active member of CUTA and APTA, promoting solutions for sustainable transportation.
Sherena Hussain – Fleet Zero
Sherena Hussain is an accomplished business and legal professional in the area of sustainable infrastructure, business model transformation, public-private partnerships, contracts, public management and transaction financing. Sherena is currently the Chief Operating Officer at FleetZero, turn key solution provider helping fleets decarbonize through the adoption of alternative propulsion technologies including Hydrogen. Sherena is an accomplished academic, advisor and specialist in how to structure and capitalize sustainable infrastructure projects and partnerships across Canada and the globe. She is active in the transition to low and zero emission transportation and energy.
Sherena is an academic in real estate and infrastructure, including serving as the Academic Director of the prestigious G7 Sustainable Infrastructure Fellowship Program. She also practiced law at McCarthy Tetrault LLP, and has worked on numerous complex infrastructure and financing globally. In addition, she has worked at Infrastructure Ontario, facilitating the procurement and delivery of infrastructure projects using different forms of financing, including the use of Public-Private-Partnerships.
Sabah Lone is a Technical Solutions Consultant with Vontas with over 15 years of experience in the public transportation industry. Sabah graduated with a Master’s of Science in International Politics from the University of London, UK and a Bachelor of Arts from Trent University in Ontario, Canada. 
Over her career, Sabah has worked with multiple technologies, agencies, and vendors across the United States & Canada specializing in Intelligent Transportation Systems, Vehicle Intelligence, and Yard Management. Her role innovates the way riders, operators, and employees interact with transit applications worldwide.  
Moderator(s)
Sasha Pejcic – Better Fleet