Declaring an urgent imperative to prepare for the use of electricity as a crucial transportation fuel in the future, the nation's electric utilities have collectively pledged to move forward aggressively to create the infrastructure to support the full-scale commercialization and deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The utility industry's pledge focuses on the following components of the commercialization of PEVs:

• Infrastructure

  Utilities will help ensure there are no system impacts from fueling large numbers of PEVs from the power grid. They also will help develop comprehensive local charging infrastructure plans.

• Customer support

  Utilities will ensure that PEV customers receive excellent customer care on questions ranging from charging mechanics to rates.

• Customer and stakeholder education

  Utilities will collaborate with state and local officials, automakers and other stakeholders to provide comprehensive education outreach to customers on all aspects of PEVs.

• Vehicle and infrastructure incentives

  Utilities will work closely with federal, state and local stakeholders to encourage PEV penetration, including purchase incentives, tax rebates, off-peak charging rates and subsidized parking.

• Utility fleets

  Utilities will take significant steps to accelerate the introduction of PEVs into their utility fleet operations.

“Our industry acutely recognizes that now is the time to redouble our ongoing efforts to lay the groundwork for making plug-in electric transportation in this country a reality, not just a vision,” said Anthony F. Earley Jr., chairman and CEO of DTE Energy and chairman of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). “We, as an industry, are eager to collaborate with the auto industry and others to bring PEVs to market.”

EEI President Tom Kuhn added, “At a time of mounting concern about climate change, U.S. energy security and unemployment, plug-in electric vehicles will help tame carbon emissions while reducing oil imports and creating jobs. We also are mindful of President Obama's very ambitious challenge to put 1 million PEVs on the road by 2015.”

Their comments, which came in conjunction with “The Business of Plugging In” — a conference on the commercialization of PEVs sponsored by DTE Energy, General Motors and the University of Michigan — launched the industry's commitment to help accelerate the penetration of PEVs in the United States. Earley was joined by Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co. and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

The co-chairs of EEI's Electric Transportation Task Force, Ted Craver, chairman and CEO of Edison International, and Bill Johnson, CEO of Progress Energy, led the development of the pledge, which was endorsed by EEI's board of directors in September.

Utilities will work with federal, state and local policymakers to support purchase and ownership incentives for vehicles and infrastructure alike. “Encouraging widespread adoption of electric transportation is an important piece of our strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Craver explained.

The utilities also pledged to continue the electrification of their own fleets as quickly as possible and collaborate with industry suppliers to develop sustainable fleet acquisition and operations plans.

“Our industry is already using neighborhood electric vehicles and will electrify the rest of our fleets as it makes sense,” Johnson said. “We hope to drive the development and deployment of PEVs for medium- and heavy-duty utility applications, which will help us save money through reduced fuel costs and decrease our carbon emissions.”