Peco gets grant for hybrid bucket truck
Published in: Philadelphia Business Journal
Date: 10/27/2005
Peco Energy Co., the Philadelphia electric and gas utility, said Thursday it has been awarded a federal Clean Cities grant for more than $83,000 to help pay for the production and testing of a prototype hybrid bucket truck it expects to get next spring.
Peco’s sister utility, Commonwealth Edison Co. of Chicago, also will test a bucket truck. The two subsidiaries of Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC – News) of Chicago are among the first utilities to test hybrid bucket trucks.
The trucks use up to 60 percent less fuel than diesel-powered bucket trucks. Much of the fuel savings comes while the trucks are being used on job sites. Unlike a diesel-powered truck, the hybrid allows the operator to shut off the diesel engine and operate the bucket on an electric motor for up to two hours before the engine needs to be restarted to briefly recharge the battery. As a result, considerable less fuel is burned and noise is dramatically reduced.