POWERGRAMS

11 Electrifying Electrifying Company fleet turning toward plug-in vehicles by Carla Davis PHOTOGRAPHY by PHIL FREE Mike Walker, who oen drives a plug-in electric vehicle on the job, likes it so much that he bought his own. Before the pandemic curtailed travel for work and forced him to switch to online meetings and phone calls, Walker, Corporate Headquarters market specialist, drove his organization's plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt when making visits to commercial and industrial customers across Birmingham and Western divisions. "Aer the company introduced me to the technology and I saw how convenient it is, I started doing research on my own when I wanted a vehicle for my personal use," said Walker, who bought a hybrid Honda Clarity last year. "I like it because it gets up to 45 miles on a charge, and I don't have to fill up the gas tank as oen. I also save on my power bill by taking advantage of Alabama Power's Plug-In Electric Vehicle rate rider, which allows me to save 2 cents per kilowa-hour between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m." Elizabeth Kuhn, Energy Services manager, Corporate Headquarters, also knows firsthand the advantages of driving an electric vehicle. Kuhn and her Energy Services team each take turns driving an all-electric Tesla Model X anytime they visit Alabama Power customers throughout the company's service territory. It's part of their effort to educate customers about Alabama Power products and services, as well as other innovative electric technologies. "We show them that this technology is real and can be quite exciting," said Kuhn, noting that she has driven the Tesla as far as Mobile, Montgomery and Anniston. "When we tell customers that they can save more than $25,000 on gas over the life of the vehicle and help the environment by reducing emissions, it becomes more real and they start thinking, 'I can do this.'" Walker and Kuhn are among many Alabama Power employees who have been introduced to the benefits of electric transportation by driving company fleet vehicles. Alabama Power has been using electric vehicles to a small extent in its fleet since the 1990s, said Jeff Martin. But Fleet Services has commied by 2030 to increase plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles to 50% of certain segments of its fleet, including passenger cars and small sport utility vehicles (SUVs), forklis and off-road utility vehicles. "In the past, we earmarked 5% of our capital budget to use for electrifying the fleet," said Martin, Fleet Services manager. "In 2020, those goals changed. Now we are concentrating on bringing into the fleet electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in these segments because they are proven, reliable and cost-effective, and Walker bought a Honda Clarity.

• Cover