TWC Joins Clean Fleet Initiative

The FCC won't need to make more fuel-efficient fleets a deal condition on Time Warner Cable if it approves the Comcast/TWC merger.

Time Warner Cable said Tuesday it is teaming with the Department of Energy to help meet or beat its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 15% between 2012 and the end of the year.

TWC has a fleet of more than 20,000 trucks and other vehicles and joining DOE's Clean Cities’ National Clean Fleets Partnership will allow it to share best practices, data and technical expertise with other fleet owners.

“One of TWC’s core values is a commitment to responsible business practices that positively impact the communities we serve,” said TWC Chairman Rob Marcus. “We are very pleased to join this important DOE partnership to help our fleet achieve greater levels of environmental efficiencies."

As part of its ongoing Go Green initiative, TWC is already switching to more fuel efficient cars and trucks, including making the Ford Fusion the standard TWC corporate car.

TWC has also reduced the idle time for its bucket trucks by switching to devices that allow the buckets to operate when the truck engine is off. Cable ops are also cutting down on those truck rolls as they migrate to all-digital systems.

Operators are also pushing for what they argue is a big energy-saver: Getting rid of the prohibition on integrated leased set-tops.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.