Hartford-based Northeast Utilities says it is participating in various industry and government programs to support commercial development of plug-in electric vehicles.
NU said it teamed with its peers nationwide in the Edison Electric Institute’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle Market Readiness Pledge, which kicked off recently in Detroit.
Closer to home, NU has joined with other utilities to form the Regional Electric Vehicle Initiative (REVI) with the common goal of advancing electric transportation in the Northeast.
The company says it also has implemented a collaborative approach working with state and municipal officials, policy leaders and customers in Connecticut and Massachusetts to develop electric-vehicle charging infrastructure in its service areas.
“Our customers and communities are looking to us for energy, environmental and economic solutions that make sense today and for the future,” said James B. Robb, NU’s senior vice president of enterprise planning and development. “It is critical that the region be prepared for the arrival of plug-in electric vehicles beginning roughly one year from now.”
Since spring 2009, three of the four applications NU participated in for federal funding from the   Department of Energy promoting alternative transportation were chosen and await final negotiations.
In one, NU will receive four plug-in, hybrid utility “trouble trucks” through the Electric Power Research Institute’s grant program, and in another NU is a candidate to receive plug-in vehicles as part of Ford Motor Co.’s grant.
In addition, NU will serve as a technical advisor to the West Virginia University/National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium’s educational programs for emergency responders, technicians and the general public.
The fourth proposal, in which NU would have installed 500 home-based charging stations over the next two years, was not chosen by DOE, the utility said.
