EEI’s member companies are leading the clean energy transformation and are helping to reduce carbon emissions in the electric power sector and across the economy. Among their many actions, electric companies are partnering with communities to support the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and are electrifying their internal fleets.

To increase transportation electrification, National Grid has joined EV100, a global initiative organized by the Climate Group, where companies commit to switching their fleets to electric and/or to installing charging infrastructure for staff and customers by 2030. All 106 EV100 members are increasing demand, influencing policy, and driving mass roll-out to help make electric vehicles (EVs) more available and affordable for everyone.

National Grid’s commitment extends companywide, including both their U.S. and U.K. operations. The company will add charging infrastructure and will electrify their entire light-duty fleet, plus most of their medium-duty fleets, by 2030. This equals the electrification of 5,784 vehicles by 2030.

Approximately 40 percent of the Northeast’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are from transportation, making it a larger source of GHG emissions than any other sector. Transport also is the U.K.’s largest emitting sector, accounting for 27 percent of the country’s GHG emissions.

“In doing our part to reduce GHG emissions in the areas we serve, transportation is a sector National Grid cannot ignore,” said Badar Khan, U.S. President of National Grid. “It is the fastest-growing contributor to climate change globally. By joining EV100, we are committing to fast track transportation electrification and make a significant contribution by 2030. Over the next decade, we will work with other utilities, charging station providers, automakers, policymakers, regulators, and our customers to put more EVs and charging stations on our streets.”

“As the first leading electric company in the U.S. to make an EV100 commitment to electrify its fleet, National Grid is pushing the bar for other utilities. They’re showing that the industry can play a significant role in speeding the transition to electric vehicles as well as the transition to a clean grid – both critical actions needed to fight climate change,” said Amy Davidsen, Executive Director of North America at the Climate Group.

In addition to joining EV100 and committing to electrifying its fleet and providing EV charging infrastructure for customers:

• National Grid is providing charging ports across its territories in Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. The company already has deployed 2,500 charging ports, with 16,000 on the way, one of the largest EV charging programs outside of California. Many of these ports are in underserved communities, so that all customers of varying incomes have access.
• National Grid is putting electric city and school buses on the road and is one of two companies in the United States to adopt electric backhoes.
• National Grid recently unveiled its new EV Road Trip, an effort to raise awareness about the location of charging infrastructure and to accelerate consumer adoption of EVs across New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. As summer arrives and 7 in 10 Americans hit the road, National Grid is offering an online guide to tourist spots in the Northeast and ways to see them sustainably and conveniently in an EV.
• National Grid plans to continue the conversation on electric transportation advocacy and action at COP26, the UN global climate summit, this November. As a Principal Partner of COP26, National Grid has a goal of working with partners in government and private industry to find solutions to the climate crisis.

To learn more about EEI member companies’ commitment to electric transportation, visit EEI’s Transportation Electrification webpage and read EEI’s document Electric Transportation Benefits Customers, Communities, and the Environment.

Tags : Clean Energy, All