Progress Energy joins industry in pledge to make electric vehicles a reality

RALEIGH, N.C.– Progress Energy joined with its peer investor-owned electric utilities today in a national pledge to help accelerate the transition of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) from the blackboard to the blacktop. The pledge builds on existing actions to help prepare the market for full-scale commercialization and deployment of PEVs by aggressive action in five focus areas: charging infrastructure, customer service, customer education, incentives and conversion of utility fleets.

Representatives of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), an electric utility industry trade association, announced the utility industry PEV pledge this morning at the “Business of Plugging In” conference in Detroit. The pledge was created with the assistance of Bill Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy, who co-chairs the EEI CEO Taskforce on Electric Transportation.

“We are investing in plug-in electric vehicles because we believe they will help our customers save money, protect the environment and reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil,” said Johnson. “Innovative alternative technologies are an important part of a balanced approach to addressing the new energy realities of rising fuel costs and global climate change. We are committed to developing the technology and infrastructure necessary to support the widespread usage of electric vehicles.”

PEVs use electricity to replace gasoline or diesel fuel. As a transportation fuel, electricity is 50 percent to 75 percent less expensive than the equivalent cost of a gallon of gasoline. The cost of the diverse mix of energy sources used to generate the nation's electricity supply is lower and more stable than the cost of petroleum. A typical PEV overnight charge would cost less than one dollar.

Plug-in electric vehicles produce less carbon dioxide and pollutants than conventional internal-combustion engine vehicles or standard hybrid cars even when including power plant emissions. According to a study co-authored by the Natural Resources Defense Council, widespread adoption of PEVs could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 450 million metric tons by 2050 – equivalent to removing 82.5 million passenger vehicles from the road – while reducing petroleum consumption by 3 to 4 million barrels per day.

As part of the EEI announcement, Progress Energy pledges to accelerate adoption of plug-in vehicles across its entire corporate fleet (including passenger vehicles, service trucks and other vehicles) as the technology progresses and becomes a cost-effective option. Progress Energy will also work with local and state officials to develop policies and incentives to encourage electric transportation. For more information on the utility industry PEV pledge, please visit www.eei.org.

Progress Energy already has one of the nation’s largest utility PEV programs. The company has a test fleet that includes seven Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), two Ford Escape PHEV prototypes and the Southeast’s first plug-in electric bucket truck. In addition, Progress Energy is partnering with Ford, General Motors and Nissan to help bring electric vehicles to market early in the Carolinas and Florida.

Progress Energy is part of the nation’s first multi-utility trial of V2Green, a two-way communications and control technology for PEVs that will allow customers to sign up for customized charging schedules to charge their batteries when rates are low and with the least amount of impact on the environment. Also, the company is a founding partner of the Advanced Transportation Energy Center at NC State University in Raleigh, N.C. One of the focus areas for this research center is building a lighter, cheaper and more efficient battery for electric vehicles.

The company is also a technical advisor and partner in Project Get Ready, a national initiative by the Rocky Mountain Institute to work with municipalities and local businesses to pave the way for electric vehicles. In Florida, Progress Energy has partnered with the city of St. Petersburg to retrofit a Ford Escape Hybrid into a PEV.

On Oct. 20, Progress Energy helped unveil the East Coast’s first ShorePower truck stop electrification stations at Big Boys Truck Stop in Kenly, N.C. These electrification stations will reduce air pollution and save fuel by allowing resting long-haul truck drivers to use electricity to run their onboard amenities, such as TVs and heating, instead of idling their diesel engines.

For more information about Progress Energy’s advanced transportation initiative, please visit www.progress-energy.com/environment.