NRG is now constructing its network of electric-car charging stations in California, and the first eVgo station opened last week at the Westlake Shopping Center in Daly City.

The eVgo charging stations will be known as Freedom Stations; they include 240-volt Level 2 and 480-volt DC Fast Charging capability.

The CHAdeMo DC Fast Charging system can charge an electric-car battery to 80 percent capacity in about 30 minutes.

The Freedom Station locations have been wired so that a second DC quick-charging cable can be added, presumably for the competing CCS standard, at a later date.

eVgo hopes to build a network of these combination DC Fast Charging/Level 2 stations in California and other select markets.

It currently has one station in the Washington, D.C. area, with plans for two more. It also has 23 stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and 17 in Houston.

By moving into California, eVgo hopes to capitalize on the state’s goal of having 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on its roads by 2025.

In California, the company is offering a promotional rate of $7.95 for 60 days of unlimited Level 2 or DC Fast Charging; the same offer is $5.95 in Washington, D.c.

The regular rate is $9.95 per charge using DC Fast Charging.

eVgo is also looking to install Level 2 charging stations in private homes. The company says its entry-level rate of $29.95 per month will save customers $1,500 in upfront costs.

The Daly City station is the first of seven that will be installed in partnership with Kimco, a shopping-center operator that owns Westlake and hundreds of other shopping centers around North America.

Other Freedom Stations are slated for locations across the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Los Angeles Basin, and San Diego region.

The California installations are the result of a $100 million settlement with the state Public Utilities Commission over electric-rate price-fixing back in 2000.

A lawsuit seeking to derail that settlement by the now-struggling Ecotality, which also provides charging stations, was tossed out last October.

[hat tip: Brian Henderson]

_______________________________________________

Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.