CHICAGO, April 5, 2006 /PRNewswire

 

ComEd is continuing its commitment to promoting environmentally friendly technology with the purchase this month of 35 new Ford Escape Hybrids for the utility's vehicle fleet.

This brings ComEd's total number of Ford Escape Hybrids to 49, which is roughly 30 percent of its overall SUV fleet. Supervisors and technical inspectors throughout ComEd's service territory will use the vehicles.

The combination gasoline and electric Ford Escapes operate in electric- only mode when the vehicles travel at low speeds or idle at a stop. As a result, the hybrid Escapes provide a significant improvement in city/highway fuel economy when compared to the conventional SUVs.

ComEd first added Ford Escape Hybrids to its fleet last year and those vehicles experienced about a 10 mile-per-gallon improvement in fuel economy, compared to the utility's conventional Escape SUVs.

"These vehicles support our commitment to the environment because they run cleaner," said Pat Pineau, ComEd fleet manager. "We also continue to experience cost-effective, reliable performance from the Ford Escape Hybrids."

ComEd and its parent company, Exelon, have a strong record of using alternative-fueled vehicles that reduce the consumption of gasoline. Reducing the use of gasoline lessens the country's dependence on foreign oil and decreases the emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to global climate change. The company's commitment to hybrid vehicles is one of the elements of Exelon's greenhouse gas reduction program. Exelon has established a voluntary goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent from 2001 levels by the end of 2008.

ComEd also is one of the nation's largest consumers of biodiesel fuel. All of the utility's 2,100 diesel-operated vehicles run on a biodiesel blend that contains 20 percent soybean oil.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.2 million customers and more than $15 billion in annual revenue. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.7 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

SOURCE Commonwealth Edison Company

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