Exclusive: Dish Network buys propane-powered trucks for fleet

Satellite TV provider DISH Network Corp is purchasing 200 propane-powered vehicles from Roush CleanTech to reduce its fuel costs and carbon emissions, the company told Reuters this week.

The Ford Motor Co E-250 cargo vans, which will be used for customer service in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco, will join the 4,000-odd DISH truck fleet this year, said Erik Carlson, executive vice president of service and installation at DISH.

According to Carlson, DISH expects a 55 percent reduction in fuel costs from the vehicles, amounting to about $2,500 per vehicle per year.

Propane was considered the best fit after all the cleaner alternatives, including natural gas, were considered, Carlson said.

"We had been thinking about alternative fuel and as we looked as the list of categories that were important to us and propane met most of those needs," he added.

(Reporting By Edward McAllister. Editing by Andre Grenon)