PECO Now Fueling Entire Fleet with Biodiesel Blend

February 15, 2008 – Vol. 12 No. 47

PECO Now Fueling Entire Fleet with Biodiesel Blend.

All of the Philadelphia-based utility’s approximately 580 utility trucks are now fueled by locally produced B20 biodiesel blend. By company estimates using a blend of 20 percent soy-based oil and 80 percent diesel fuel results in a net 16 percent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions for every gallon of biodiesel used over regular petroleum diesel,

“This supports PECO’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategy,” said Bill Flemming, PECO fleet manager. Using biodiesel instead of straight diesel also reduces carbon monoxide by 20 percent, hydrocarbons by 20 percent and particulates by 12 percent.

PECO has contracted with the Energy Cooperative, a local nonprofit with members throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, to supply the biodiesel. The vegetable oil is blended with petroleum diesel from Sunoco and delivered to PECO sites. “So we continue to use Sunoco-produced diesel fuel and also help a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the use of environmentally friendly fuels,” Flemming said.

Currently PECO's transition to a totally green fleet consists of: one prototype hybrid bucket truck, 43 hybrid SUVs and seven natural gas powered vehicles. This combined with the 580 trucks using biodiesel brings PECO's alternative vehicle total to more than 630.

PECO, an electric and natural gas utility, is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation. Exelon established a new voluntary goal to reduce its GHG emissions by eight percent from 2001 levels by the end of 2008, and to work with, and encourage, its suppliers to reduce their GHG emissions. PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 480,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. (2/14/08)

Links:

PECO
http://www.exeloncorp.com/ourcompanies/peco

Energy Cooperative
http://www.theenergyco-op.com

Exelon Corporation
http://www.exeloncorp.com

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No