Walgreen Co. (WAG) said its electric-vehicle charging station
program will expand to include about 800 of its 7,733 stores by the
end of the year.
The drugstore chain operator began its charging station program
late last year, as electricity producer NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) began
creating a network of them in Houston.
Walgreen on Thursday cited U.S. Energy Department data that
indicates that its public charging stations will represent about
40% of such sites in the country.
The retailer said installations will begin later this month.
Major markets expected to host them include Boston, Denver, Los
Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Select
locations in Florida, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington
also will receive the charging stations.
The Energy Department has been aiming to set up enough charging
stations to encourage sales of electric vehicles, such as General
Motors Co.'s (GM) Chevrolet Volt. The Volt which has seen strong
sales and orders in a limited rollout and is expected to be
available nationalwide by year's end.
Walgreen and NRG shares closed Wednesday at $41.80 and $24.57,
respectively. Neither was active premarket.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com