Ford & Southern California Edison Partner On Plug-In Hybrid

Ford Motor Company and Southern California Edison are partnering to test plug-in hybrid vehicles. Ford will begin sending 20 plug-in Escape SUVs to Edison, which will deliver them to some of its 13 million customers in 11 central, coastal and southern California counties outside Los Angeles. The utility will measure data on the vehicle's range, durability, and impact on the power grid. Plug-ins can be charged in regular outlets. General Motors introduced its plug-in Chevrolet Volt earlier this year. Mass production has been held back by costs and battery technology that limit the vehicles' range.

The Center supports plug-in fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles as the best available technology to reduce gasoline consumption and global-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Combined with nuclear power plants no emissions are released into the atmosphere. Plug-in hybrids generally have batteries that power an electric motor with an internal combustion engine for use when the batteries run low. The Center favors replacing the internal combustion engine with a fuel cell.