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<b>Ford Motor Co.</b> and <b>Southern California Edison</b> will team up
to test rechargeable hybrid vehicles and hasten mass production of the
new technology.<br>
The California utility, which serves 13 million people in 11 central,
coastal and Southern California counties outside Los Angeles, will get a
Ford plug-in hybrid vehicle by the end of this year and as many as 20 by
some time in 2009 to test durability, range and impact on the power grid,
said Susan M. Cischke, Ford senior vice president for sustainability,
environment and safety engineering.<br>
Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally and other company executives were in
California on Monday for the announcement, which Cischke says is a unique
partnership between a power provider and an automaker that should help
bring plug-in hybrids to market more quickly.<br>
Plug-in hybrids generally have batteries that power an electric motor,
with an internal combustion engine for use when the batteries run low.
The batteries can be recharged by plugging them into a standard wall
outlet.<br>
Southern California Edison (amex:
<font color="#0000FF"><u>SCE.PR.B</font></u> -
<font color="#0000FF"><u>news </font></u>-
<font color="#0000FF"><u>people </font></u>) will help Ford by placing
the cars with consumers and collecting data, Cischke said in an interview
with The Associated Press.<br>
"They have the wire-side knowledge about the grid and all the issues
there," she said. "By partnering with these two industries ...
we're hoping that it does accelerate the commercialization and certainly
drive some of the cost issues down."<br>
Power shortages have been an issue in Southern California Edison's highly
populated service area. The company is under a state mandate to build
five power plants in that would fire up during peak energy use periods.
The plants would help avoid projected energy shortages.<br>
Many automakers have plug-in hybrids that are similar to Ford's
experimental vehicles, but mass production has been held back by costs
and battery technology that limit the vehicles' range. Manufacturers are
racing to bring the technology to market as consumers seek alternatives
to traditional engines and high gasoline prices.<br>
"We see electricity as itself an alternative fuel in support of
transportation," said John Bryson, chairman of Rosemead,
Calif.-based <b>Edison International</b> (nyse:
<font color="#0000FF"><u>EIX</font></u> - <font color="#0000FF"><u>news
</font></u>- <font color="#0000FF"><u>people </font></u>), parent company
of Southern California Edison.<br>
Bryson said the collaboration will allow Ford and the utility to better
see how technology that has been tested in the laboratory works in the
real world. He said plug-in hybrids have the potential put the power grid
to better use, for example, by charging vehicles during overnight hours
when electricity demand is lower.<br>
Ford, Cischke said, already is testing two plug-in hybrids in its
Dearborn labs that are based on the Escape small sport utility vehicle, a
model that Ford offers as a gas-electric hybrid.<br>
Cischke said it's still too early to predict when Ford might mass-produce
the cars.<br>
"That's one of the reasons for this program, to gather more data and
fully understand the customer usage part," she said.<br>
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is interested in the tests
because plug-in hybrid batteries could reduce the need for additional
generators. The batteries could store electricity generated at off-peak
hours and feed it back to power companies during peak use times,
Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff said Monday.<br>
"If you could have thousands or millions of plug-in hybrids
providing these services instead, you could take generators out of that
role," Wellinghoff said.<br>
It's possible that power companies could pay hybrid owners for the power,
he said.<br>
Ford and Southern California Edison also said the cars could be used to
power homes as well, even storing power from rooftop solar panels.<br>
<br>
Associated Press Writer David Runk contributed to this report.<br>
<i>Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed</i> <br>
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