California utility SoCal Edison, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, is helping reduce its own carbon footprint by adding 280 Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup trucks to its service fleet — part of a larger strategy to transition its entire vehicle fleet to electric by 2030.
With up to 492 miles of range and a 10,500 lb. GVWR, GM’s Ultium-based pickup trucks are objectively the most capable battery electric trucks on the road today. It’s no surprise then (according to GM) that hat when Southern California Edison (SCE) went to add durable, zero-emissions pickups to its service fleet, it chose Chevy’s Silverado.
“The deployment represents a pivotal step in SCE’s commitment to electrify our fleet and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Todd Carlson, Principal Manager of Fleet for Southern California Edison. “At SCE, we’re committed to leading by example in California’s clean energy transformation. Working with partners like Chevrolet allows us to integrate high-performing electric vehicles while improving SoCal’s air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The new-for-2025 Silverado EV WT was announced this October with an EPA-estimated range of up to 492 miles — nearly a 10% improvement over the 2024 models, and at a lower price, too. Pricing starts at $57,095 for the Work Truck model before federal and state incentives kick in, making the Chevy a must-look option for any fleet applications that don’t require a utility body or upfit (which the unibody nature of the Silverado makes impractical, if not impossible).
SoCal Edison is expected to continue to add EVs to its fleet as it rolls out more than 41,000 EV charging stations and works to modernize the state’s energy grid, supporting not just the energy needs of its own citizens, but those of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington — all states that draw power from California — as well.
GM, for its part, is pretty hyped about the order. “We are excited to help innovative customers like Southern California Edison to meet their electrification goals with the Chevrolet Silverado EV WT as part of their fleet transformation,”” said” says Sandor Piszar, vice president of GM Envolve. “The Silverado EV WT combines the performance and reliability commercial customers expect with the benefits and low cost of ownership of electric propulsion.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there may be a lot of gruff and grizzled fleet managers out there who scoff at environmental concerns, but the quest for improved efficiency and cost reduction among commercial fleet managers knows no political or environmental ideology. If it’s better or cheaper, they’ll buy it. If it’s better and cheaper, they’ll buy two — and battery power is proving to be consistently better, in a broader scope of use cases, than gas, diesel, or hydrogen.
SOURCE | IMAGES: GM.
