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(AP) - DEAD BATTERY: NRG Energy Inc. is required by an unusual legal settlement to build a network of electric car chargers throughout California, but has delivered just 10 percent _ or 110 stations_ of what it promised in the first year.
THE FINE PRINT: State officials promoted the deal as a way to resolve a legal claim California filed on behalf of electricity customers amid the state's power crisis. NRG co-owned power plants sold the state electricity at inflated prices; the company inherited the entire liability when it took full ownership of the plants.
WHO'S TO BLAME: NRG blames a series of unanticipated problems, including a reluctance among owners of malls, offices and apartment buildings to provide space for the chargers _ even when the company subsidizes their cost.
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