A Maryland school bus driver is planning to buy his mother a new home after winning a $5 million prize from a Maryland Lottery scratch-off ticket, reported ABC News.

Maurice Williams of Hyattsville said he purchased the winning ticket at a 7-Eleven while headed to work, according to the news report.

Williams reportedly bought the $5 million winning ticket using money he had won from another lottery ticket earlier, turning a previous small victory into a life-changing jackpot.

“One lottery ticket later,” Williams told local news reporters, “I was a multi-millionaire.”

“The winning ticket came from the Maryland Lottery’s $5 million LUXE scratch-off game, which still has two top prizes remaining.

Williams said  he was overwhelmed when he realized he had won the game’s top prize. “I just sat there stuck, I mean, I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I had to get my head straight.”

Williams reportedly told lottery officials he almost missed the life-changing win. “I didn’t notice I had a matching number at first, until I scanned it,” he said. “It’s crazy because the matching number was 59 and I just turned 59 the other day.”

After confirming the win, Williams immediately shared the news of his $5 million lottery payout with his mother. He said one of his first major purchases will be a new home for her.

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A Maryland electric utility is launching a pilot program designed to help school districts overcome one of the biggest barriers to adopting electric school buses: Upfront costs.

The Maryland Public Service Commission approved a plan by Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy serving about 285,000 customers in Maryland, to implement an $11.1 million electric school bus pilot program. The initiative will help fund the deployment of up to 28 electric school buses within the utility’s service territory.

The program comes as Maryland advances its transition to zero-emission transportation under the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which requires public school systems to purchase zero-emission vehicles.

The law states that county school boards must only enter into new contracts to purchase or operate zero-emissions school buses, or otherwise electric school buses. Districts may seek exemptions if zero-emission buses cannot meet operational needs, such as route length, or if sufficient funding is not available to cover the higher upfront costs.

The EV transition is not without its challenges. Montgomery County Public Schools, the largest school district in Maryland and an early national leader in school bus electrification, recently requested approval to purchase about 140 new diesel buses to meet immediate transportation needs. According to local news reports, district officials said current electric bus technology and fleet availability have not fully met operational demands for longer routes, field trips and midday service. These reasons prompted the temporary return to conventional buses while the district continues to evaluate its long-term electrification strategy.

Funding Aims to Incentivize Zero-Emissions Adoption

Meanwhile, Potomac Edison is supporting the electric shift by covering the cost difference between diesel and electric school buses, up to $250,000 per vehicle. It is also paying for the cost of charging infrastructure and any required electrical upgrades.

In addition to financial incentives, the program will provide school districts with technical and administrative support for planning and installing charging equipment and training personnel responsible for operating the buses.

The pilot will also test V2G technology. Utilities and policymakers have increasingly pointed to V2G as a way EVs could support grid reliability while vehicles sit idle between routes. Successful use cases have been slow to proliferate throughout the industry, but recent developments point to more achievable success with V2G.

“This program is designed to help make the EV transition more practical and affordable,” said Jim Myers, FirstEnergy’s president of West Virginia and Maryland. “We’re reducing upfront costs and offering hands-on support to help school systems integrate electric buses smoothly.”

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