Key facts
- PG&E will invest approximately $11.4 billion in California in 2027.
- The utility deferred $2 billion in planned spending.
- A strategic review of PG&E's business and financing has been launched.
- The review aims to reduce customer costs associated with higher financing expenses.
- PG&E has announced a five-year, $73 billion capital expenditure plan.
- New legislation, Senate Bill 254, reforms California's wildfire liability program.
Utility PG&E announced plans to invest approximately $11.4 billion in California in 2027, a figure that follows the deferral of $2 billion in previously planned spending. This strategic move is part of a broader review aimed at reducing customer costs stemming from higher financing expenses. The company stated that its debt financing needs would be reduced by $2 billion as a result of this review.
PG&E's strategic review will encompass a comprehensive evaluation of regulatory, financial, operational, and strategic alternatives. This includes examining various options for the company's organization and financing structure.
Separately, PG&E has outlined a five-year, $73 billion capital expenditure plan focused on infrastructure upgrades to accommodate increasing electricity demand, particularly from data centers. CEO Patricia Poppe emphasized a focus on serving large load customers and enabling rate-reducing load growth, while also highlighting grid modernization efforts, including the deployment of advanced management systems and plans for extensive underground power lines and wildfire safety system upgrades.
The company's infrastructure hardening efforts are also a response to past costly wildfires, which led to its bankruptcy filing in 2019. Recent state legislation, Senate Bill 254, reforms the wildfire liability program and funding framework for utilities, with Governor Newsom proposing an $18 billion plan to bolster the state's wildfire fund.