Electric vehicles are charging into community service in San Diego County, courtesy of a collaborative effort between the nonprofit Citizens Energy Corporation and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). The partnership has borne fruit through four electric vehicles donated to local organizations, San Diego Canyonlands and the Neighborhood House Association (NHA), as per the San Diego Gas & Electric.
With profits from investments in high-voltage transmission lines, Citizens Energy is applying its resources to bolster efforts within low-income and marginalized communities. Announced at Azalea Park in City Heights, four electric trucks were unveiled that will support wildfire resilience and various educational programs. At the same time, SDG&E ensures essential grid improvements intended to enhance reliability and resiliency. The EVs will augment not just the community’s resilience endeavors but also workforce programs, as Clayton Tschudy, San Diego Canyonlands Executive Director, explained by San Diego Gas & Electric.
Scott Crider, president of SDG&E, highlighted the dual benefits of the collaboration, which goes beyond the mere strengthening of infrastructure. “We are thrilled to support San Diego Canyonlands and the Neighborhood House Association as they transition their fleets to all electric vehicles,” Crider told San Diego Gas & Electric. The focus is on maximizing customer benefit, offering the community cleaner air and the perks of electric transportation.
The Neighborhood House Association, which delivers numerous social services including nearly one million meals annually, has already integrated these electric vehicles into its ‘Go Green Initiative’. Touring the NHA’s 41st Street location, Joe Kennedy III emphasized the importance of energy-efficient solutions for organizations like NHA. “The vehicles are a needed extension of our ‘Go Green Initiative’, an agency-wide effort to increase efficiency and lower our carbon footprint,” Rudy Johnson, President and CEO of the Neighborhood House Association, touted the environmental benefits of the electric vehicles in an interview with San Diego Gas & Electric. The addition of these EVs appears to be a step in the right direction for the wellbeing of both the community and the environment.
