Exelon Corp., a U.S.-based energy company, says its six electric and gas utilities will continue advancing transportation electrification to benefit customers and communities by taking major steps to electrify its fleet of vehicles.
Exelon’s utilities, which serve approximately 10 million customers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania through its Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco subsidiaries, will electrify 30% of their vehicle fleet by 2025, increasing to 50% by 2030. This transition will be achieved through a combination of fully electric vehicles, vehicles with plug-in idle mitigation units and plug-in hybrids.
“Exelon is committed to providing a cleaner and brighter future for our customers and communities while achieving excellent operational performance. The transportation sector represents about a third of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,” says Calvin Butler, CEO of Exelon Utilities.
“Transportation electrification holds the promise of helping the cities and states in which we operate meet their environmental goals, reduce their carbon footprint, bring cleaner air to all communities we serve and create economic opportunity through job creation and reduced energy costs. We are proud to lead by example as one of the first utility companies to take major steps to electrify our own fleet of vehicles,” he adds.
Exelon’s utilities have a combined fleet of more than 7,200 vehicles. Electrifying 30% of the fleet has the potential to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Electrifying 50% of the fleet could reduce annual emissions by 12,000-15,000 metric tons by 2030.
This commitment demonstrates Exelon’s continued leadership in helping customers and communities reduce harmful carbon and air pollution and save energy. In 2019, energy efficiency programs at Exelon’s utilities saved customers 22.3 million MWh of electricity. Exelon also is by far the largest producer of emissions-free energy, producing about 12% of all the clean energy produced in the U.S.
Exelon’s utilities will meet fleet electrification targets cost-effectively by replacing select end-of-life combustion vehicles with plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, where possible. By 2025, all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) reaching the end of their life cycle will be replaced with an electric vehicle, with all LDVs being electrified by 2030.
Exelon’s utilities will employ idle mitigation units to partially electrify medium and heavy-duty vehicles where fully electric commercial options are still under development and limited. These enhancements reduce noise and air pollution, which is significant because manufacturers estimate that utility vehicles idle in park for 65% of their total engine hours and an hour of engine idle is equivalent to one gallon of fuel.
Photo: A ComEd electric vehicle