California utility prepares for surge in plug-in electric cars

20 Ford Escape Hybrid PHEV-30s equipped with JCI/Saft 10 kWh Li-Ion packs allow up to 30 miles AER below 40 mph. Meant to bolster the DOE, SCE and EPRI PHEV demonstration fleet. Rosemead, CA -- Automakers envision electric cars as a solution to gas price jumps. Environmentalists see bluer skies. And electric utilities? They could be the biggest winners of all... Electric cars use lots of juice and are typically plugged in to recharge at night when utilities have excess power-generating capacity. That's great for power companies.