Houston's commuters plug into electric cars

Houston: At a former Hummer dealership on the outskirts of Houston, NRG Energy, a power producer, has established the headquarters of its electric vehicle-charging network, the first in the US to be privately funded.

The symbolism of clean, plug-in vehicle technology replacing dirty, gas-guzzling technology is readily apparent. But does it reflect reality?

While it is rare to see a Hummer on the streets of Houston, the energy capital of the US, it also is rare to see an electric vehicle.

Ironically, the day I went for a test drive in a Nissan Leaf, we spotted a lone DeLorean sports car that had been converted to an electric vehicle, amid the lines of gas guzzlers on the packed highway.

"Gas?'' read a sign on the back. "Where we're going, we don't need gas.''

Indeed, NRG EV Services' eVgo seven public charging stations have given Houstonians the ability to extend the range of their electric vehicles beyond what their home charger gives them, so they can travel in and around Houston without petrol.

NRG plans to spend $25 million (Dh91.7 million) over five years to link Texas' three key cities — Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin — with charging stations. The plan calls for 50 stations in Houston, 112 kilometres in Dallas, and stations along the highways to link those cities with Austin, which is separately building its own charging network.

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If all goes well, NRG will take the network national, where it could link up with other infrastructure fuelling projects in places such as California.

Subscribers to the Houston network receive overnight chargers installed in their homes, which provide 112 kilometres of range with the heat or air running and 160 miles with the windows down. The average commute in the US is 49 kilometres.

The home chargers, which cost $2,000, are paid off in monthly instalments of $49. For $89 a month, users also can power up at the seven stations placed outside shopping centres and drug stores.

So a user can spend half an hour in the HEB grocery store beside one of the DC chargers in Houston and come out to a fully charged Nissan Leaf. The AC chargers at other stations provide up to 38 kilometres of range for every hour plugged in.

"It's not as fast as filling up at a gas station yet, but we're not at a gas station — you can do something you need to do,'' says David Knox, NRG spokesman, after taking on the highway to demonstrate how electric vehicles can keep up with gas-powered cars in the 112 km/h traffic.

Arun Banskota, president of NRG EV Services, will not divulge how sales are going in the year since eVgo was established, saying the company is not looking for a profit as it builds the infrastructure.

— Financial Times