Media are invited to join ENMAX Corporation in front of City Hall on Thursday, July 8 from 10:30 a.m. to noon for a test ride in newly received electric cars to be used in an employee pilot program. Over 400 ENMAX employees have expressed interest in the program which will help the utility prepare for future use of these extraordinary vehicles.

“Electric vehicles are undoubtedly growing in popularity and ENMAX will be an integral part in facilitating their success in Alberta,” said Gary Holden, ENMAX Corporation president and CEO. “There are many considerations including infrastructure needs, vehicle capabilities and other functions that we must fully understand in order to serve our customers.”

The vehicles on display include an electric vehicle from 1916, the Raunch and Lang antique electric car, affectionately nicknamed “Old Girl”. Also, two of the vehicles that will be used in the ENMAX employee pilot are the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (pronounced i-meev) and the Toronto Electric A2B. Both the i-MiEV and the A2B will be available for test rides for attending media.

The electric vehicle employee pilot program will feature different vehicle manufacturers, styles and sizes. Approximately 100 vehicles will be put to the test when the pilot launches in late 2010. Some vehicles will be used as part of the ENMAX fleet and others by The City of Calgary. However, the majority will be piloted by ENMAX employees for their personal use. The pilot program will run for three to four years.

DETAILS

Date: Thursday, July 8

Time: 10:30 a.m. – noon

Place: In front of City Hall (loading zone off of Macleod Trail between 7th and 8th Ave.)

What: Three electric vehicles will be displayed and media will be taken on test drives in two of the vehicles that will be used in the ENMAX employee pilot program.

Interviews: (11 – 11:30 a.m.) ENMAX Corporation president and CEO, Gary Holden
      Lara Brown, Mitsubishi Public Relations Manager
      Steve Dallas, president of Toronto Electric

Multi-media: Images and 10 second audio clip of vehicle start-up will be available at www.enmax.com/media on July 8 at 10 a.m.

ENMAX Corporation, through subsidiaries and predecessors, has provided Albertans with safe and reliable electricity for more than 100 years. ENMAX Corporation provides electricity, natural gas and value-added services to more than 650,000 residential, commercial and industrial metered customer locations in Alberta. ENMAX Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, is Alberta’s leading competitive electricity retailer. Through subsidiaries, ENMAX Energy is one of Alberta’s largest investors in renewable energy and was the first Canadian electricity retailer to offer customers the option to support wind generated energy. As well, ENMAX Corporation, through its subsidiary ENMAX Envision Inc., provides fibre optic networks for high speed data and internet communications. Visit our website at enmax.com.