PHILADELPHIA – Electric and natural gas utility PECO has added 15 new Ford Escape Hybrids to its fleet, bringing PECO’s total number of Ford Escape Hybrids to 41, which is more than 40 percent of its overall SUV fleet. PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 470,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. Supervisors and technical inspectors throughout PECO’s service territory will use the vehicles. The combination gasoline and electric Ford Escapes operate in electric-only mode when the vehicles travel at low speeds or idle at a stop. As a result, the hybrid Escapes provide a significant improvement in city/highway fuel economy when compared to the conventional Escape SUVs. PECO first added Ford Escape Hybrids to its fleet last year and those vehicles experienced about a 10-mile-per-gallon improvement in fuel economy, compared to the utility’s conventional SUVs. Plans are in place to convert PECO’s diesel transportation fuel to 20 percent biodiesel by the end of 2006.