The Southern California Edison (SCE) and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E) have finally received a fresh consignment of all-electric Mitsubishi i MiEVs that will be used to test the impact of battery-powered vehicles on the electrical grid.

Both utilities have first announced the program in August, just as the automaker slated the i MiEV for the mid-2009 Japanese debut. American car buyers, on the other hand, are unlikely to get their hands on Mitsubishi's flagship EV any time soon. The small batch of i MiEVs will remain the test subjects for vehicle-to-grid integration as both utilities advance their feasibility studies. However, according to Autoblog Green, one Mitsubishi executive speculated that the car might go on sale in U.S. in a year and a half, following Nissan's announcement to bring electric cars to Oregon.