Use Begins on Earth Day April 22, 2005

REYNOLDS/WARNER ROBINS/UPATOI – Flint Energies is celebrating Earth Day 2005 with the addition of a new hybrid electric Ford Escape Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) to its Houston County fleet. Dan Stone, the Manager of External Member Services, will drive the vehicle on a regular basis. The vehicle was purchased from Brannen Ford in Byron.

“Flint continues its tradition of environmental stewardship with the introduction of the Escape,” said Vice President of Transportation and Warehousing Larry Pearce. “The electric cooperative has already added dual-fuel trucks to its fleet, running cleaner and cutting emissions as we conduct the daily business of the cooperative.”

“In addition, Flint has reduced its fleet size over the last seven years to comply with all environmental laws,” said Pearce. “Flint is also an active member of the Middle Georgia Clean Cities Coalition, which is championing clean air for our region.”

Pearce said that Flint Energies will soon announce a new diesel fuel initiative which focuses on reduced emissions and lower costs.

Ford states that its Hybrid uses a four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine in the hybrid version of its Escape SUV. The Escape Hybrid's 2.3-liter, aluminum, four-cylinder, dual overhead cam engine generates 133 horsepower at 6,000 rpm. The three-phase, permanent-magnet, synchronous electric motor adds 94 horsepower in the 3,000-5,000 rpm range.

The Escape Hybrid weighs in at 3,893 lbs with a wheelbase of 103.1 inches and the fuel tank holds 15 gallons.

According to Car and Driver magazine (Dec. 2004), the Escape Hybrid with a full options package accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 10.8 seconds, has a top speed of 102 mph and goes from 70 mph to a full stop in 195 feet.

Autobytel.com explains how the Escape Hybrid works:

“Hybrids use two motors to give the car power. In addition to the traditional combustion engine, a hybrid vehicle also has an electric motor. The electric motor is recharged during driving both from the fuel burning in the internal combustion engine as well as through the energy dissipated during braking. As a result, hybrid vehicles never need to be plugged in. The electric motor provides some of the power necessary to move the vehicle, which therefore allows a smaller combustion engine to be used, giving the vehicle better gas mileage and making it pollute less.

 

With the Ford Escape Hybrid, the electric engine is used to initially launch the vehicle from a stop and the gasoline engine only kicks in when further power is needed. As a result, you can actually drive the Escape Hybrid at low speeds without using the gasoline engine.”

 

Ford rates it at 35 miles per gallon in town, 29 on the highway. The Escape Hybrid still offers a 20 to 25 percent increase in fuel economy over the non-hybrid Escape and a huge gain over larger SUVs that may get only 10 miles per gallon.

Flint Energies has a long history of environmental stewardship, complying with all Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) rules on fleet size and maintenance.

Flint Energies, incorporated in 1937, is an electric membership cooperative that provides energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural members in parts of 17 central Georgia counties. Flint has 224 employees and serves more than 255,000 Georgians through more than 74,400 meters. Flint's physical plant consists of more than 5,800 miles of distribution line and 48 substations located within Bibb, Chattahoochee, Crawford, Dooly, Harris, Houston, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Sumter, Taylor, Talbot, Twiggs and Upson Counties. The system also includes the Fort Benning military post. Flint is the seventh largest of Georgia's 42 EMCs and the 33rd largest of the nation's nearly 1,000 rural electric cooperatives.

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