LOS ANGELES (AP) - NRG Energy Inc. has agreed to pay $120 million to settle a dispute over long-term contracts signed during California’s energy crisis 10 years ago, and most of the money will be used to create a network of more than 10,000 car charging stations for electric vehicles, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday.
With the move, California will try to turn a black mark on its past power management into an attempt at future energy efficiency.
“This is a truly creative deal that offers tremendous value for California utility customers,” said Michael R. Peavey, a commissioner with the California Public Utilities Commission, which negotiated the settlement. “In one stroke, it closes out an unfortunate chapter in our history and propels us down the road to a clean transportation future.”
Brown also signed an executive order setting goals to have 1.5 million vehicles with no tailpipe emissions on California’s roads by 2025, and aiming for virtually every vehicle on the road to be emission-free by 2050.
The $120 million settlement, to be paid over four years, stems from decade-old claims against NRG and Dynegy Inc., which co-owned plants that generated California power at the time. NRG assumed full responsibility in 2006 when it bought Dynegy’s half of the assets, and the settlement resolves the litigation, NRG said in a statement.
California officials claimed that during 2000 and 2001, the state overpaid nearly $9 billion to companies that artificially raised prices by withholding energy supplies, driving up rates and causing the notorious rolling blackouts that left power customers sporadically in the dark.
Other companies involved in the crisis included Enron Corp., Williams Companies Inc., Duke Energy Corp. and Mirant Corp. Most reached settlements with the state several years ago.
Some $100 million of the money from NRG will fund at least 200 public fast-charging stations, and another 10,000 plug-in units at 1,000 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley, the Los Angeles basin and San Diego County, the governor said.
“With this agreement, the people of California will gain a charging infrastructure ready to support their current and future fleet of electric vehicles,” David Crane, CEO of Princeton, N.J.-based NRG, said in a written statement, “and we will be helping the state meet its clean car goals.”
The other $20 million will go toward reducing rates for utility customers, Brown said.
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