PRINCETON, NJ - New Jersey-based NRG Energy is planning to unveil a flat-rate electric vehicle refueling service in Texas early next year, the Dallas News reported. 

The service will reportedly include unlimited charges at home and at charging stations throughout Houston at a cost of $60 to $80 a month. By the middle of 2011, the company hopes to offer the same service to drivers in Dallas, Michael Harrigan, NRG's vice president of electric vehicle services, told the Dallas News. 

Harrigan addressed the plans during a Dallas Regional Chamber panel discussion on June 22. 

The monthly rate will include leasing and installing a home refueling station, charging at local stations, and emergency charging when needed. If an EV driver is within 25 miles of the city center, he or she will always be within five miles from a public refueling station. Those stations will be located at national retail chains, such as coffee shops and electronics stores. Charging at the public stations will take about 15 minutes; charging at home will take a few hours. 

Service contracts will probably last about three years, Harrigan said.