Joseph Rigby, chairman and CEO of Pepco Holdings (PHI), said: “We are excited to be at the forefront of developing an infrastructure to supply fuel for electric vehicles. This initiative will provide valuable information about the capabilities of electric vehicles and their growing impact on the grid as we transition to both the smart grid and an electrified transportation sector.”
With nearly every major automaker planning to introduce a plug-in electric vehicle over the next three years, Rigby said PHI is committed to working with the auto industry, the Department of Energy, local governments and the utility industry to overcome challenges, including support for both a public and commercial charging infrastructure, affordable vehicle-charging rates and supportive permitting and codes for vehicle charging stations.
Eight additional charging stations will be placed across PHI’s service areas in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey when the company begins taking delivery of the Volts later this year.
The cars will be added to the company’s fleet and driven by employees as part of a two-year demonstration to assess the impact of these vehicles on the electric system and to evaluate their commercial application to the company’s fleet.
Smart meters and smart grid technologies will be incorporated with the charging stations to collect information about energy consumption and enable customers to recharge at the most economical time of day, such as during off-peak hours when electric demand is lowest, the company said.
