British Gas pilots electric fleets

British Gas has teamed up with Nissan in the UK's largest trial of commercial electric vehicles

The energy company will operate a fleet of 28 all-electric Nissan e-NV200 vans for a six-month national winter test to determine the viability of including 100%-electric vehicles among its 13,000 home service vans.

The trial, which started in November and runs to April 2014, will assess how the vans perform in winter conditions during typical daily usage patterns for British Gas home engineers. Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions, which manages the British Gas fleet, will provide 24-hour support during the trial.

Gateshead College has trained the drivers to ensure they are fully briefed on operating the vehicles. All 28 engineers involved in the trial have been provided with a British Gas home charging point and access cards to public infrastructure to keep the vehicles charged. British Gas aims to have at least 10% of its fleet running on electricity by 2015.