Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) plans to electrify 50% of its fleet by 2030 to support the continued adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Illinois and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

More than 200 of its vehicles have electric hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric systems and another 10 are all-electric vehicles, ComEd, which is a unit of the Exelon Corporation, said. ComEd’s initial plan to electrify 30% of its fleet by 2025 will eliminate 2,000 metric tons of GHG emissions, in addition to the 4,000 metric tons that the ComEd fleet already avoids annually. 

ComEd’s current fleet of 3,000 vehicles includes 1,400 biodiesel-fueled line trucks and another 430 units that are capable of running on high-level ethanol-gasoline blends, or E85, ComEd announced. 

“Cleaning up the transportation sector is key to improving the lives of our citizens. Greening our own fleet is one way we can help create cleaner air in our communities. A crucial next step is preparing the grid to support increased electrification of our large customer’s vehicle fleets and the widespread adoption of personal EVs,” said ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez. 

ComEd will replace end-of-life internal combustion vehicles with plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, reducing fuel and maintenance costs and creating savings that will be passed on to customers, the company said. By 2025, all of the company’s light duty vehicles approaching the end of their life cycle will be replaced with electric vehicles, and all LDVs will be electrified by 2030.

There are now 21,885 EVs registered in Illinois, up from fewer than 8,000 registered EVs in 2017, according to the Secretary of State’s office. In addition to environmental benefits, key factors driving the growing popularity of EVs include lower operating costs compared to gas-powered cars.