Electric companies teaming with GM

DETROIT, July 22 (UPI) -- U.S. power companies are teaming up with General Motors Corp. to find a way to put electric cars on U.S. roads, sources said.

The Detroit automaker and the Electric Power Research Institute, a consortium of more than 30 utility companies, will work together to figure out how to get the nation's electric infrastructure in place to recharge millions of electric vehicles, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.

Electric cars have a big advantage. At current prices, they cost 1 to 2 cents per mile to drive. Gasoline-powered vehicles cost about 14 cents per mile, said Jon Lauckner, GM's vice president of global program management.

GM is developing two vehicles for electric power, the Volt, which has a range of about 40 miles, and the Vue, an SUV hybrid with an electric power range of about 10 miles.

GM said it hoped to launch the two vehicles in 2010, the News reported.

In June, the Department of Energy awarded GM and the Electric Power Research Institute $10 million to develop the Saturn Vue, the report said.