ComEd to convert light-duty fleet to electric vehicles

ComEd announced Friday it plans to convert all of its light duty fleet to electric vehicles by 2030 as part of its overall goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The electric utility's current fleet of 3,000 vehicles includes 1,400 biodiesel-fueled line trucks and 430 units that are capable of running on E85 ethanol-gasoline blends. More than 200 vehicles have electric hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric systems and another 10 are all-electric vehicles.

Under ComEd's plan, internal combustion vehicles will be replaced at the end of service life with plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles. By 2025, all of the company's light duty vehicles (LDVs) approaching the end of their life cycle will be replaced with electric vehicles, and all light duty vehicles will be electrified by 2030.

ComEd plans to electrify 30 percent of its fleet by 2025, which it said would eliminate 2,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to the 4,000 metric tons that the ComEd fleet already eliminates. The company's goal of electrifying 50 percent of its fleet by 2030 has the potential to eliminate an additional 29,000 metric tons of GHG emissions, officials said in a release.

"Greening our own fleet is one way we can help create cleaner air in our communities," said ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez. "A crucial next step is preparing the grid to support increased electrification of our large customer's vehicle fleets and the widespread adoption of personal EVs."

In addition to reducing emissions, officials said the conversation will reduce fuel and maintenance costs and create savings that will be passed on to customers.