Sep 8 2009
With new natural gas and hybrid electric models, PECO is expanding its utility fleet of vehicles using cleaner, alternative fuels. The utility is participating in a national consortium that recently was awarded a federal stimulus grant to purchase plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and the company is buying more trucks to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) as well.
The fleet recently added two more NGVs – Ford F350 pickup trucks modified to run on compressed natural gas. PECO has been using NGVs since the late 1980s and has six CNG refueling stations at its service buildings in Warminster, Plymouth, Berwyn, Phoenixville, Coatesville, and Eddystone, all of which can be used by the public with arrangements made in advance.
The NGVs will be used by PECO’s energy technicians in the Philadelphia suburbs. The vehicles cost more to buy when modified for CNG use, but the fuel costs significantly less than diesel or gasoline at 25 percent less per equivalent gallon, said Bill Flemming, PECO’s fleet manager and chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Coalition. Learn more about NGVs at www.ngvamerica.org or www.ngvc.org.
PECO also is participating in a utility group organized by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the South Coast Air Quality Management District to demonstrate PHEV performance. PECO is one of 50 utilities and other fleets in the program, which was awarded the $45 million competitive stimulus grant. The company expects to buy 20 Ford F550 utility trucks that will be modified as PHEVs over the next two years. The matching stimulus grant will provide up to $2.5 million for the vehicle conversions. PECO will collect data on power consumption, fuel usage and other performance as part of the industry’s ongoing research into advanced batteries and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
The PHEV program is one of 48 projects getting financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy “helping to establish American leadership in creating the next generation of advanced vehicles.” (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/news/news_detail.html?news_id=12697)
With vehicles on the road 24/7, PECO’s fleet logs about 11 million miles of travel every year serving customers in the Greater Philadelphia region. The company believes its investment in alternative fueled vehicles demonstrates its commitment to reduce harmful emissions and protect the environment, said Ron Bradley, vice president, Support Services. PECO’s fleet currently includes 650 medium- and heavy-duty trucks that operate on bio-diesel fuel, a blend of diesel fuel derived from natural oils like soybean oil; 47 hybrid electric SUVs, and 16 natural gas vehicles (NGVs).
The PHEVs work through a combination of an internal combustion engine, a bank of batteries, and an electric motor, and the batteries can be charged by the engine or plugging into an electrical source. PHEVs are well-suited for utility use because they can operate without running the engine at all, dramatically saving fuel use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and can be recharged during non-peak hours for electricity use, said Flemming.
“With our NGVs and plug-in hybrids, we will reduce our overall fuel costs, become more energy independent, and support our company’s environmental goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Flemming said. For more on PHEVs and other alternative fueled vehicles, visit http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/plugin_hybrids_what_is.html.
The fleet program is one component of Exelon 2020: A Low-Carbon Roadmap, the comprehensive environmental strategy of PECO’s parent company. Exelon 2020 sets the goal of reducing, offsetting or displacing more than 15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2020. In addition to the cleaner, alternative fueled vehicles in the fleet, PECO installed the largest green roof on an existing urban setting in the state, replaced its landmark Crown Lights messaging system atop its Center City headquarters with energy-saving LED lights, and is upgrading its office and service buildings to meet Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Visit www.peco.com/green for more information on the company’s environmental initiatives.