Biggest US Electric Vehicle Order Coming to California
23 December 1999
Biggest US Electric Vehicle Order Coming to California
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 22 -- The nation's largest single
fleet of 480 electric vehicles is coming to California, thanks to a
partnership of public and private organizations quickly brought together this
fall by the California Energy Commission.
The U.S. Postal Service today announced a contract with the Ford Motor
Company to build 500 electric utility vehicles. All but 20 of the vehicles
will go into service in California, in areas from San Diego to the San
Francisco Bay area.
The California Energy Commission helped bring together 15 groups,
including the U.S. Department of Energy, local air quality management
districts, utilities and state agencies that agreed to help pay the cost
difference between gas-powered delivery vans and these battery-operated
vehicles. The group will assist in testing and training and will also provide
infrastructure support -- the charging stations the electric fleet will need.
"This deal reflects the importance Governor Gray Davis puts on the public
and private sector working together for the good of California's environment,"
said California Energy Commissioner Robert Pernell. "It truly is a
collaborative effort to improve our State's air quality, and to encourage the
use of vehicles whose emissions are -- in the words of Governor Davis
-- 'zero, zip, nada, zilch.'"
In addition to the Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board
contributed state funds to bring the electric vehicles to California. Utility
companies around the State also participating include the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas
and Electric. In the northern part of the State, participants included the
Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Pacific Gas and Electric, Alameda Power
and Telecom, and the Sacramento-based California Electric Transportation
Coalition, a trade association made up of utilities advocating the development
of electric vehicles.
Local air districts supporting the program include the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality
Management District, the San Diego Air Quality Management District, and the
South Coast Air Quality Management District, along with the Mobile Sources Air
Pollution Reduction Review Committee.
Most of the new post office electric vehicles will operate in Southern
California cities where air pollution problems are most severe. A total of 378
vehicles will serve the cities of Los Angeles, Carson, Costa Mesa, Covina, El
Monte, Fountain Valley, Glendora, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Mirada, Pico
Rivera and San Gabriel. The city of San Diego will receive 42 vehicles.
In Northern California, the cities of Alameda, Sacramento and San Jose
will receive 20 electric vehicles each.
"Thanks to the support and foresight of these 15 partners, California
remains the leader in the development and use of alternative forms of
transportation," said Pernell. "By using electric instead of conventional
delivery vehicles, the Postal Service will reduce the tail pipe emissions of
its vehicles by nearly 143,000 pounds of carbon monoxide, 11,000 pounds of
hydrocarbons, and 16,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides each year."
The vehicles should begin arriving in California late next year.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE FUNDING PARTNERS
California Energy Commission Claudia Chandler 916-654-4989
California Air Resources Board Catherine Witherspoon 916-322-5840
California Electric
Transportation Coalition Cece Martin 916-552-7077
South Coast Air Quality
Management District Dr. Chung S. Liu 909-396-2130
Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power Scott Briasco 213-367-0239
Sacramento Air Quality
Management District Freya Arick 916-874-4891
Sacramento Municipal Utility
District Mike Wirsch 916-732-6754
Bay Area Air Quality Management
District Tom Addison 415-749-5109
San Diego Air Quality
Management District Dennis McGee 858-694-2422
Pacific Gas and Electric Norm Stone 415-972-5392
Southern California Edison Paul Klein 626-302-7935
San Diego Gas and Electric L. "Buz" Schott 858-654-6305
Alameda Power and Telecom Matt McCabe 510-748-3911
Mobile Sources Air Pollution
Reduction Review Committee Michele Stitzel 909-396-3043