CPUC/NRG Settlement Agreement

In 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved an agreement between NRG Energy and the CPUC to settle outstanding legal issues regarding the California Energy Crisis. The settlement required NRG to invest $102.5 million to deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across the state.

Program Details

The NRG Settlement includes multiple project designs with five key components: public fast charging stations, electrical upgrades for EV charging stations at existing building facilities (make-readies), research and development on advanced charging technologies, and programs to increase EV access for underserved communities.

• Public Fast Charging "Freedom Stations": $50.5 million of the settlement budget was allocated to build at least 200 50kW public fast-charging stations owned by NRG. Each station had to include at least one DC fast charging port (50kW) and one Level 2 charging port (240 volt), or two 50kW DC fast charging ports.  NRG was required to own and operate all of the "Freedom Stations" it installs using the settlement funding until December 5, 2020.

The DC fast charging stations had to be regionally distributed across the LA Basin, San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, and San Diego and a minimum of 20 percent of the stations installed in each region had to be located in qualifying low-income locations.

• Electrical Upgrades for EV Charging at Existing Facilities, "Make Readies," and Charging Plazas: The Settlement originally allocated $40 million of the budget for NRG to install infrastructure to support at least 10,000 make-ready stubs at 1,000 existing facilities. These upgrades allowed a site host to install an EV charging station without additional electrical infrastructure upgrades. The settlement established regional distribution requirements for the make-ready sites, and NRG is required to ensure that specific percentages are installed at public interest sites such as community colleges, hospitals, and California State University campuses and workplaces.

With the adoption of the second amendment to the settlement in early 2017, the requirement for NRG to install a certain percentage of its make-ready infrastructure in multi-unit dwelling facilities was removed and the port target was reduced from 10,000 to 6,875.

The second settlement amendment authorized NRG to spend up to $12.5 million of the $40 million "make-ready" infrastructure budget to build at least 10 charging plazas designed to serve residents of nearby multi-unit dwellings.  NRG was also allowed to use a portion of that $12.5 million to add energy storage to the charging plazas or some existing "Freedom Stations." Each charging plaza has at least three DC fast chargers and was required to be located in an area with a high concentration of apartment buildings.

• Stationary Storage Plus EV Charging (SSPEC): NRG spent ~$1.9 million to demonstrate how micro-grid components, including energy storage, on-site renewable generation, and EV charging, can reduce the cost of developing and operating DC fast charging stations and alleviate strain on the grid that may otherwise be associated with the high-powered charging facilities.
• High-Power EV Charging Demonstration: NRG allocated $2.12 million to deploy high-power 150kW DC fast charging stations. EV service providers and car manufacturers used the demonstration sites as a test bed for technology and associated standards.  The project included two sites in California, one in Fremont and one in Baker.
• EV Storage Accelerator (EVSA): NRG spent ~$1 million in coordination with University of California San Diego, Nissan and Honda, to test four vehicle-grid integration use cases: interconnection, transformer upgrade deferral, emergency power backup, and the value of vehicle-to-grid integration.
• Programs for Underserved Communities ("EV Opportunity Programs"): NRG was required to spend $4 million on projects that increase awareness of the social benefits of EVs while creating opportunities for residents of underserved communities to gain access to EVs.  NRG has allocated that funding between two projects:
  • Green Raiteros: NRG allocated $519,400 on an 18-month partnership with San Joaquin Valley Latino Environmental Advancement Project (Valley LEAP), the Fresno County Rural Transit Authority (FCRTA), the Shared Use Mobility Center (SUMC), and West Hills Community College to build upon an existing grassroots ridesharing program in the San Joaquin Valley, The Raiteros. NRG's role was to help establish a sustainable business plan for electrifying the Raiteros program's vehicles, deploy EV charging infrastructure to support EVs for the program, and demonstrate the use case for rural ridesharing.
  • Electric Access Charging Hub (EACH): NRG allocated $3,480,600 to develop seven EV charging hubs in disadvantaged communities that were designed to serve the public as well as shared EVs. Each site has at least four 50kW DC fast chargers and were designed to also offer shared EVs through a carshare operator. 

For more information on the results of the programs, please see the reports linked below.

Procedural History

On April 27, 2012, the CPUC filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) a settlement agreement to establish a statewide network of charging stations for Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEVs). On November 5, 2012, FERC issued an order approving the Settlement.

Read the press release

Read the settlement

FERC Order Approving Settlement (Docket No. EL02-60)

On November 2, 2015, CPUC and NRG jointly filed with FERC eight technical amendments to the settlement agreement. On February 24, 2016, FERC issued an order approving the amendment.

Read the amendment here.

FERC Order Approving Amendment

On February 22, 2017, CPUC and NRG agreed to a second amendment to the settlement agreement to extend and increase the public benefits related to the settlement agreement and amend some technical requirements within the amendment.

Read the amendment here.

Audit Reports

The Settlement calls for two third-party audit examinations of NRG's compliance with the agreement's provisions. The first was to occur starting at the conclusion of Settlement Year 2, and the second when NRG believes it has completed all of its commitments. The first audit report was completed in Q3 2018 and provides the CPUC with a third-party opinion on NRG's compliance with the Settlement Agreement requirements up to the launch of that examination. The auditor prepared a report that includes findings, observations, recommendations, and NRG's responses to the examination's outcome. The auditor's mid-term audit report is available for download here, and the auditor's final report is available for download here.

Quarterly and Annual Reports

NRG reported their progress towards achieving the settlement requirements to the CPUC quarterly and annually.