Community ambassadors will lead education and awareness around EV adoption at summer events in northern Illinois

To expand efforts to support customers considering making the switch to electric vehicles (EVs), ComEd today announced the launch of its new EV Ambassador Program, a community-driven initiative designed to expand education and awareness around EV adoption and benefits in northern Illinois. The program will launch with the introduction of three local partner organizations: Equiticity, Bronzeville Community Development Partnership and A Step Beyond NFP. EV Ambassadors through this program will engage directly with residents and local businesses through community events, presentations and pop-up EV demonstrations throughout the summer.

“Switching to an EV can come with a variety of benefits, including fuel cost savings and reduced environmental impact. We are committed to helping our customers reap the benefits of this transition and ensure they understand the resources available to them as they consider EV options,” said Melissa Washington, senior vice president of customer operations and strategic initiatives at ComEd. “ComEd launched this new EV Ambassador program to better reach customers where they are, increase the visibility of our offerings and connect communities who will see the greatest benefits of EVs with the correct resources.”

The EV Ambassador Program is part of ComEd’s broader Beneficial Electrification (BE) Plan, which provides customers with resources and financial rebates to support the transition to cleaner transportation. ComEd’s BE funding launched in its 2023 BE Plan, and funding has been extended through 2028 with the recent approval of ComEd’s second BE Plan. Through the new EV Ambassador initiative, ambassadors will interact with community members and businesses to connect them with ComEd rebate programs, EV Dealership network, EV Toolkit and more.

“I’m honored to serve as a ComEd EV Ambassador, and excited to spread the wealth of knowledge that empowers our communities to embrace cleaner energy, reduce our carbon footprint and build a brighter, healthier future for our city. Together, we can make meaningful change, one conversation, one home and one neighborhood at a time,” said Nicole Wheatly, Founder and Executive Director of A Step Beyond NFP.

“Bronzeville Community Development Partnership and JitneyEV are pleased to participate as ComEd EV Ambassadors. This program aligns with our mission of accelerating the EV transition, especially in historically underserved communities where health and air quality are negatively impacted by proximity to expressways and industrial corridors. One of the biggest barriers to EV adoption is lack of awareness about the economic and health benefits of EV transportation,” said William Davis, Executive Director at Bronzeville Community Development Partnership.

“Equiticity is pleased to partner with ComEd on their new EV Ambassador Program. We look forward to our work together to ensure Black and Brown neighborhoods are experiencing the range of benefits from increased adoption of electric transportation,” said Olatunji Oboi Reed, President and CEO of Equiticity.

Community members can meet with ComEd’s EV Ambassadors and experience EV technology firsthand at a variety of events this summer including:

- Oak Park Farmer’s Market: May 31

- Broadview Village Hall Community EV Presentation: May 31

- Rockford Community Market: June 5

- Heartland Alliance ‘Vital Bridges’ Community Event: June 13

- Transport Chicago 2025: June 13

- Park Forest EV Car Show: June 25

- Cars at Lincoln Commons: June 28

Additional events will be added to the EV Ambassador Program schedule throughout the year, and information can be found at ComEd.com/EV.

The Ambassador organizations were selected through a rigorous application and interview process to ensure that each represented organization would have a strong interest in sustainability and credibility in their respective communities. Each participating Ambassador organization will be awarded a small stipend for their participation in 2025 and ComEd hopes to continue this program in future years.

The launch of the ComEd EV Ambassador program builds on existing commitments from the utility to support EV adoption for its customers. In February, ComEd announced at least $100 million rebates available to customers in 2025 to help more customers take steps toward EV adoption. To reduce the cost barriers to EVs, the rebates cover three distinct programs: residential EV charger and installation costs, all-electric fleet vehicles and business and public sector make ready charging costs. To date, ComEd has awarded $30 million in rebates this year funding nearly 5,000 public and private EV charging ports (L2 and DC Fast Chargers) and incentivizing the lease or purchase of nearly 1,000 new and pre-owned electric fleet vehicles. A majority of the funds, 85% has been awarded to customers residing in, or primarily doing business in Equity Investment Eligible (EIEC) communities.

All of ComEd’s EV programming puts equity front and center, with more than half of the total rebate funds reserved for low-income customers and equity-eligible communities, and the majority of community education and awareness events taking place in equity-eligible communities. For more information on EV resources and programs offered by ComEd, please visit ComEd.com/EV.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company serving more than 10.7 million electricity and natural gas customers—the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information, visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.

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