Ford's test program for the Escape plug-in hybrid is expanding beyond the original partnership with Southern California Edison (SCE). The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will join the program, setting up a group of utilities in the New York-New Jersey area that will also participate in the test program of the twenty PHEV Escapes that Ford is building. The Escapes will initially be tested in California by SCE after which the fleet will be shared with the EPRI group.

The expanded test program will help increase the understanding of the potential impact of plug-in hybrid vehicles on the electrical grid. Including northeastern states in the testing will allow the evaluation of the impact in different regions and weather conditions. The collaboration among utilities in different areas should help them to standardize what kinds of accommodations need to be made to the grid and power generation systems to accommodate larger numbers of plug-in vehicles. More after the break.

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