Driving the Dream of Increasing Plug-in Vehicles Throughout California

Southern California Edison President Pedro Pizarro joined California business, industry and government leaders in Los Angeles last week to share plans with Gov. Jerry Brown to help accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles throughout the state.  

The leaders presented their ideas during Drive the Dream 2015, an event created by the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative to spur business, industry and public sector partners to collaborate on innovative programs and policies such as workplace charging and electrification of fleet vehicles.

“We’re proud of our more than 25-year commitment to electric transportation,” Pizarro said. “To facilitate greater use of electric vehicles and other distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar and battery storage, SCE is making investments to build a 21st-century power network while maintaining our mission to safely deliver reliable, affordable and clean energy to our customers.”

SCE currently has about 48,000 plug-in electric vehicle customers in its service territory, which amounts to about 13 percent of national sales. The utility invests $4 billion a year on the power network, which includes upgrades to ensure that it is ready for wider adoption of technologies like plug-in electric vehicles, battery storage, solar and other renewable power sources.

In addition to making the grid ready to accommodate electric vehicle charging, SCE is also committed to the following measures over the next year:

• Installing an additional 25 workplace charging stations at SCE facilities to supplement its existing 100 stations in operation today. 
• Installing an additional 50 fleet charging stations at SCE facilities to supplement its existing 340 charging stations that support its current fleet vehicles and future fleet acquisitions.
• Acquiring an additional 36 plug-in electric fleet vehicles.
• Continuing support of the Edison Electric Institute’s industry-wide pledge that calls for the company to commit at least 5 percent of its annual fleet acquisition budget to plug-in electric vehicle purchases.

The event, which also showcased the latest plug-in electric vehicles and charging technology, was sponsored by SCE, Chevrolet, NRG, Pacific Gas & Electric, ChargePoint and San Diego Gas & Electric.