ComEd has committed to transitioning more of its fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) to help electrify the Illinois transportation sector.
ComEd’s current fleet of 3,000 vehicles includes 1,400 biodiesel-fueled line trucks and another 430 units that are capable of running on high-level ethanol-gasoline blends – or E85. More than 200 of its vehicles have hybrid electric or plug-in hybrid electric systems, and another 10 are all-electric vehicles. ComEd plans to electrify 30% of its fleet by 2025. The company aims to electrify 50% of its fleet by 2030.
“Cleaning up the transportation sector is key to improving the lives of our citizens. Greening our own fleet is one way we can help create cleaner air in our communities,” says Joe Dominguez, CEO of ComEd. “A crucial next step is preparing the grid to support increased electrification of our large customers’ vehicle fleets and the widespread adoption of personal EVs,” he adds.
ComEd will replace end-of-life internal combustion vehicles with plug-in hybrid and full EVs, reducing fuel and maintenance costs, and creating savings that will be passed on to customers. By 2025, all of the company’s light-duty vehicles (LDVs) approaching the end of their life cycle will be replaced with EVs, and all LDVs will be electrified by 2030.
There are now 21,885 EVs registered in Illinois, up from fewer than 8,000 registered EVs in 2017. In addition to environmental benefits, key factors driving the growing popularity of EVs include lower operating costs compared to gas-powered cars. ComEd has recently introduced an EV Toolkit that provides information on savings, benefits and incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles, along with an overview of EV brands and models, rate options, EV chargers and a public charging station locator by zip code.