ENWIN is moving to electrify some of the vehicles in its fleet.
The utility company announced Monday that 10 percent of its fleet is now powered by electricity.
A total of 12 of its vehicles are now either electric or plug-in hybrid.
The list includes a state-of-the-art 55-foot electric bucket truck, two fully electric Ford E-Transit vans, two fully electric Ford Lightning F150 pickup trucks, one hybrid Chrysler Pacifica minivan, and six hybrid Dodge Hornets.
Garry Rossi, ENWIN's President and Chief Executive Officer, says Windsor-Essex is the hub of electrification and electric vehicles, and we're here to support that and show our community that support.
Rossi says they expect to know within a year or two of operating the electric vehicles how much annual savings have been achieved.
"We're going to start out with 10 percent. We're going to allow our crews; we're going to rotate the vehicles through all of our crews so that they understand and see how it affects their day-to-day. We're going to get their feedback, and we're going to look at likely increasing that in years to come," he says.
"This is a $1 million investment, very similar to what our non-electric bucket trucks are worth," he says.
Rossi adds that the bucket truck lasts between 250 kilometres and 300 kilometres on a full charge and is much quieter when performing operations.
The company also recently unveiled a massive one-megawatt solar rooftop net metering facility at its Rhodes Drive headquarters.
The installation features over 3,000 solar panels—one of Canada's largest—that generate enough clean electricity to power 300 homes annually.
According to the City of Windsor, there were 10 electric registered vehicles in the city in 2016. In 2021, the figure increased to over 400. Officials said that number has dramatically changed since 2021.