In Joint Pledge, Utilities Ramp Up Efforts to Make Electricity a Crucial Transportation Fuel

The nation’s electric utilities today 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 pledge was announced at a conference on the commercialization PEVs in Detroit.

“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. “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 one million PEVs on the road by 2015.”