BELLEVUE, WA - Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has joined Nissan and ECOtality as a member of The Electric Vehicle (EV) Project to bring new environmentally friendly transportation options to widespread use in Western Washington by late 2010.

PSE's effort will support a $100 million Department of Energy grant awarded to ECOtality's Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) subsidiary to deploy up to 2,240 charging stations and approximately 1,000 Nissan LEAF EVs (electric vehicles) in cities throughout the Puget Sound area, including Bellevue, the utility's headquarters, and other suburban locations in King County. PSE will assist with the roll-out of charging stations for the Nissan LEAF and other EVs, and is studying how the increased use of EVs may impact the demand for energy and the energy infrastructure.

As part of The EV Project, PSE will be collaborating with Nissan, eTec and municipalities and customers in the region in providing the energy infrastructure needed for the development of vehicle charging stations in King County and other portions of Western Washington served by the utility. The nation's second-largest utility owner and operator of wind power, PSE will be exploring how EV charging stations and renewable energy generating facilities, such as wind and solar power, work together to reduce the carbon emissions from the transportation system.

The PHEV automobiles join 48 conventional hybrid vehicles in PSE's fleet, and PSE's first hybrid service line truck, which entered service in April 2009. The vehicle, which is a heavy duty diesel-electric hybrid, is being used by the utility to restore power in routine and storm situations.

For more information about The EV Project, visit www.theEVproject.com.