Partnership: Southern California Edison And Ford

Partners in Progress – Southern California Edison Southern California Edison is collaborating with Ford Motor Company to examine the future of plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of a complete vehicle, home and grid energy system. In December, 2007, the utility company received the first unit of a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrids to use as part of the partnership. Later added to the collaboration are the Department of Energy, Johnson Controls-Saft and the Electric Power Research Institute. Who: Southern California Edison is the largest electric utility in California, serving more than 13 million people in a 50,000 square-mile area of central, coastal and Southern California. Based in Rosemead, Calif., the utility has been providing electric service in the region for more than 120 years. SCE's service territory includes more than 180 cities. What: Working together, the groups are exploring many of the potential benefits and/or challenges of widespread PHEV use. The demonstration fleet will be evaluated in typical customer settings to model overall home and grid values the technology could tap. When and Where: The first demonstration Escape Plug-In Hybrid was delivered to Southern California Edison in December, 2007. Road testing is now also under way on vehicles in Michigan and Washington, D.C. Why: The potential values of PHEVs offer benefits to both the consumer and the environment, making it a prime technology focus of the future. “The challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing our nation’s energy security reach across industry boundaries and unite us in a common cause,” said John E. Bryson, chairman and CEO of Edison International, parent company of Southern California Edison. “Partnerships between automakers such as Ford and electric utilities such as Edison demonstrate the innovative leadership position that both companies hold in seeking and finding solutions to global and consumer problems.”

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