(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration could finalize a $15 billion loan to PG&E Corp. for projects including hydropower generation, battery storage and transmission lines before the end of the year, the company’s top executive said.
“We have conditional commitment, a couple weeks we could finish and close the deal,” PG&E Chief Executive Officer Patti Poppe said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg TV. The loan offer “enables us to save money for customers.”
PG&E plans to use the financing for several infrastructure projects that will help the utility to meet its net-zero emissions goals while aiming to keep up with demand growth. The deal, the largest yet through the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, is still subject to additional requirements before being finalized and could be derailed by the incoming Trump administration if not closed before the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.
The financing comes as PG&E is faces pressure to lower its electricity rates, which have soared more than 50% in the past three years, according to California’s public advocates office. The utility has spent billions of dollars to reduce wildfire risk after its equipment sparked the deadly 2018 Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise and drove the company into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, utilities are are predicting a surge in demand growth from data centers powering artificial intelligence.
--With assistance from Ari Natter and Mark Chediak.
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