Pulling the Plug

November Message from Randall Pugh
President/CEO

Pulling the plug from the car to a regular outlet is getting us up to 100 miles per gallon, thanks to our participation in a national research project. Sponsored by the Cooperative Research Network® (CRN), the plug-in hybrid technology project allowed us to convert our Toyota Prius into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Helping save energy, money and the environment are all benefits of this project, but most of all for us, it's an opportunity to be part of a technology that could benefit our members in the future.

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) use a combination of electricity and gasoline, and can get over 100 MPG around town. For less than 50 cents a day, a PHEV can be plugged in at home and charged in approximately four hours. Alan Shedd, Jackson EMC's Commercial/Industrial Marketing engineer, drove his company car to Monrovia, Calif., for the conversion. The first of its kind in Georgia, Jackson EMC's PHEV is on the road daily and collecting valuable data to contribute to the study.

A larger hand-built battery pack was installed, allowing longer drive times from the electric charge without relying on the gasoline engine. A plug-in charging system and data collection software were also added to the car. We have a small fleet of hybrid vehicles, and with our experience with this conversion, we'll know how the car's performance will fare if used in more of our vehicle fleet.

CRN's two-year study is one of the largest, most comprehensive reviews of PHEV performance facilitated by a third party. The results will provide valuable data on how PHEVs perform in the real world, along with unbiased answers to questions about the impact of this technology if used on a larger scale. To see video on the conversion process and learn more about this study, click here.

Randall Pugh
President/CEO.