The first all-electric bucket trucks are now part of the fleet at MidAmerican Energy.

The company is starting with three of them and Local 4 took a look Tuesday morning.

When the bucket truck is running, you don’t hear much.

The electric motor in the back powers the truck.

“It’s an awesome unit — we have three across the state,” MidAmerican Director of Regional Operations Ben Keith said while showing off the fully electric bucket truck. “So it charges right there this here is for the truck chassis and this is for the boom operation.”

The boom-powered back is impressive to watch. A 55-foot reach is plenty high enough to work on any power line the worker needs to get to … and there is a benefit to it being so quiet.

“I think that’s an added benefit folks don’t think about a lot of times communication on the job site is definitely improved,” Keith said.

The truck has a range of 135 miles per charge and will operate its hydraulic equipment for a full day of work.

“This is a pilot just to introduce the technology we’re always looking for what’s new and what’s next and an opportunity to become more efficient,” Keith said.

MidAmerican wouldn’t say how much these trucks cost, but say they are slightly more expensive.

They expect to make that cost up on fuel and maintenance costs.