POWERGRAMS

13 them to choose electric vehicles when they need replacements. "A large portion of our workforce has been here for many years, and they are used to things working in a certain way," Caver said. "It's hard to learn how to use a piece of equipment that's different from what you've used your whole career, and even harder to trust it if it's not familiar. We've been working to convince our employees to consider electric forklis or electric vehicles even if they've never had them before." The availability of convenient charging stations is another major concern for customers, Martin said. But with 154 charging-station ports at 47 Alabama Power locations, finding a spot to plug in a vehicle is easy. Kuhn adds that locating a charging station on the road is not hard, either. When she puts her destination into the Tesla's navigation system, it automatically pinpoints locations where she can charge the vehicle along her route. Plug-in hybrids and totally electric vehicles are viable options even if employees typically drive long distances, Martin said. Albert Miller, who travels the Gulf Coast as part of his job as an Alabama Power Fossil Generation regional system owner, is an example. During spring and fall outage seasons, it's not unusual for Miller to drive his company hybrid Ford Fusion about 1,000 miles a week, traveling between Plant Barry, Washington County and Theodore Cogeneration facilities and Mississippi Power's Plant Daniel. "The ride is good, the mileage is great and it's helping the company go green," Miller said. Caver said Fleet Services employees believe electric transportation is here to stay. "We see electric vehicles playing a huge role in the future of transportation," Caver said. "We believe they can be beneficial for Alabama Power and our customers. That's why we want to use them and show our confidence in them so we can convince our customers to do the same." Cedric Daniels said the company is proud to play a role in bringing electric transportation into the mainstream. "Alabama Power is commied to our service area continuing to strengthen as an aractive beacon for plug-in electric vehicle customer adoption, EV- related manufacturing and EV-related technology innovation and research," said Daniels, electric transportation manager. "We are excited about plug-in hybrid and all-electric transportation being a growth engine for Alabama Power energy, while providing our customers and communities significant tangible and intangible benefits." Electric hybrid bucket trucks have been in the fleet for over 10 years. Alabama Power has 154 charging stations at 47 locations.

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