Washington (Platts)--15Oct2012/244 pm EDT/1844 GMT

An appeals court in California dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop NRG from installing electric vehicle charging stations in the state as part of its settlement with the Public Utilities Commission stemming from the state's power crisis of 2000-2001.

EV charging firm Ecotality filed the lawsuit earlier this year, claiming that the settlement would benefit NRG and its EV charging business and that the settlement between the PUC and NRG was reached in secret.

A judge for California's 1st District Court of Appeal, in San Francisco, dismissed the lawsuit Friday without comment.

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Ecotality asserted that the settlement, instead of rewarding utility customers for NRG's role in the 2000-2001 California energy crisis, would instead help NRG gain market share in the state for its EV charging business. Ecotality, which received federal stimulus funding to install EV charging stations in several states, also said PUC negotiated the settlement without input from others, and went beyond its authority in the EV marketplace by handing NRG a monopoly in the nascent EV charging market.

The settlement between the PUC and NRG would have NRG pay a fine of $20 million and invest more than $102.5 million to add EV charging stations throughout California. It was also filed with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where it is still pending a decision, NRG spokesman David Knox said Monday.

"We are very pleased with the court's action and look forward to finishing the approval process with FERC. The infrastructure envisioned by the state of California will greatly enhance EV charging in the state and encourage far greater EV adoption," Knox said.

Because NRG has an EV charging business that stands to benefit from the settlement, Ecotality said the PUC is rewarding NRG instead of making it pay for overcharging California ratepayers $940 million during the energy crisis.

"While we are disappointed and disagree with the outcome of this case, we continue to see great opportunity for Ecotality and the whole of the electric vehicle industry in California," said Scott Watkins, spokesman for San Francisco-based Ecotality.

--Tom Tiernan, tom_tiernan@platts.com
--Edited by Jason Lindquist, jason_lindquist@platts.com

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