2nd UPDATE: NRG Plans Electric Car-Fueling Network In Houston

NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) announced Thursday it will spend about $10 million to launch a network of electric vehicle-charging stations in Houston, aiming to capitalize on the electric-car industry's latest attempt to go mainstream.

Several auto makers are bringing electric vehicles to the market over the next year. Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, 7203.TO) and Honda Motor Co. (HMC, 7267.TO) on Wednesday debuted their latest electric-vehicle offerings at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and executives expressed optimism the vehicles would have more success than earlier electric cars.

Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY, 7201.TO) is in the process of rolling out its own all-electric car, the Leaf. General Motors Co. (GM) is launching the Chevrolet Volt, an electric car with a gasoline range extender, for sale later this month.

NRG's public "fast charging" stations will be located along major freeways and in shopping and business districts, multi-family communities and other locations across Harris County. The company plans to install between 50 and 150 charging stations throughout Houston under the brand name eVgo.

"Our goal is to be able to declare that at any place in Harris County, Texas, you'll be within five miles of a charger," NRG Chief Executive David Crane said.

Access to the facilities will be available for a flat monthly fee--initially priced at $49 to $89 a month for the first three years of electric-vehicle ownership. The different plans, which also include the installation of a home charging station, allow access to different charging sites throughout the city, but each gives users unlimited electricity use.

Crane said he expects the charging network to "significantly close the decision gap between buying a conventional and a zero-emission electric vehicle."

"We believe over the lifetime of an electric vehicle, it is definitely a money-saving proposition over the ownership of an internal-combustion vehicle," he said.

NRG said it hopes to install electric-car networks in other markets in Texas "as early adoption of electric vehicles grows and spreads" there. Crane said the deregulated nature of Houston's electricity market was a key reason it chose to install the charging network there first.

Texas is also a good test ground for electric-car technology because it has a robust power generation and high-voltage delivery system, Crane said in an interview. Still, as more electric cars hit the road, he added, "there's going to have to be some local strengthening" of infrastructure to avoid overwhelming local distribution networks.

Also, Texas is a car culture. "Houstonians love their cars," Houston Mayor Annise Parker said in a speech at the launch event for the NRG initiative.

AeroVironment Inc. (AVAV) will "provide home and public charging systems, installation services, energy usage monitoring and subscription solutions," among other services related to the operation. Other partners include Nissan North America, Gulf States Toyota and electric car maker Aptera. NRG is also partnering with car rental agency Hertz (HTZ) to expand its car charging network to other Texas cities.

NRG shares closed 5 cents higher at $19.52 Thursday, while AeroVironment shares climbed $1.06, or 4.7%, to $23.57.

-By Dan Strumpf, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2818; dan.strumpf@dowjones.com

--Angel Gonzalez and Matt Jarzemsky contributed to this article.)

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