DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (NASDAQ: WAG) today helped launch the nation’s first privately funded and comprehensive electric vehicle charging network with an initial station at the Walgreens drugstore at Belt Line Road and Montfort Drive in Dallas. The drugstore retailer is working with NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) to install high-powered rapid charging eVgosm Freedom Stations at 18 locations across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
According to NRG, it plans to install at least 30 charging stations at public parking facilities, other retailers and workplaces throughout the area by Labor Day. The charging stations will be conveniently located along major freeways, near retail districts and in multi-family communities. Walgreens is the largest retailer participating in this program.
“Every day, we serve our customers’ health and daily living needs and now, we are expanding those services to help customers who embrace environmental sustainability and electric vehicle use,” said Walgreens director of energy and sustainability Menno Enters. “This is another way Walgreens is showing its commitment to helping the planet through innovation, design and efficiency.”
The charging stations will feature a high-speed direct current (DC) charger that can add 30 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes of charging time, along with a Level 2 charger that can add up to 25 miles of range per hour of charge. The stations are strategically located across eVgo host partner cities to provide comprehensive coverage throughout the region.
By the end of 2012, NRG plans to install a total of approximately 70 charging stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and another 50 in the Houston area. Additionally, NRG plans will help electrify the Interstate 45 corridor that connects the two cities by the end of next year. Last November, Walgreens announced plans to host eVgo charging stations at 18 initial sites throughout Houston. Construction began this month at two locations.
"More Americans are choosing electric vehicles as a way to make a difference with respect to the environment and to our national security," said NRG EV Services president Arun Banskota. "To make EV ownership more affordable, convenient and fun, we have partnered with retailers such as Walgreens to host charging locations at strategic locations in metropolitan areas. Together, we are working to provide EV owners with range confidence, knowing that they will never be more than a few miles from a convenient charging station."
“We are pleased to have Dallas selected as the site of NRG’s first operational charging station,” said Walgreens Dallas market vice president Erv Siemoneit. “For our customers with electric vehicles, we look forward to offering some of the city’s best corners to help give people the confidence to drive longer distances with access to charging stations.”
NRG’s eVgo Service Plans
NRG started selling eVgo fueling packages to Metroplex residents in March. These charging plans will initially be priced from $49 to $89 per month, providing price security for three years during a time of rising gasoline costs. Through these eVgo plans, customers can avoid as much as $2,500 in upfront costs to install a home charging station, and in two of the plans, enjoy unlimited access to the eVgo network and unlimited miles of driving.
About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2010 sales of $67 billion. The company operates 7,697 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multi-channel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.
About NRG
NRG Energy, Inc., (www.nrgenergy.com) a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 Index company, owns and operates one of the country’s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Company’s power plants provide nearly 26,000 megawatts of generation capacity—enough to supply more than 20 million homes. NRG’s retail businesses, Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy Company, combined serve more than 1.8 million residential, business, commercial and industrial customers. With investments in solar, wind and nuclear power, as well as EV infrastructure, NRG is working to help America’s transition to a clean energy economy. NRG Energy is a founding member of the Electrification Coalition, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group of business leaders committed to promoting policies and actions that facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale. More information about the eVgo network is available at eVgoNetwork.com.
Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the ability of NRG Energy to achieve anticipated charging station rollout plans, and other factors described in NRG Energy’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, Walgreens Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2010, and their respective subsequent SEC filings, which risks and uncertainties are incorporated herein by reference. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except to the extent required by law, Walgreens disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the distribution of this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, or otherwise.