PG&E avoids ‘big bets’ as data center demand softens

Core Insights - PG&E Corp. has maintained a capital investment plan of $73 billion, adhering to a "no big bets" strategy to avoid equity issuance while stock prices remain low [1][7] - The company reported core earnings of $1.1 billion for Q3 2025, reflecting a 44% increase from Q3 2024, attributed to reduced operations and maintenance expenses [3] - PG&E's annual core EPS growth guidance is set at 9% for the period of 2027-2030 [4] Data Center Developments - The data center pipeline has decreased to 9.6 GW, down 400 MW from June, although the number of projects entering final engineering has seen a slight increase [2][5] - Of the 9.6 GW in the data center queue, 18 projects totaling 1.6 GW have entered final engineering, with expectations that 95% of these projects will be operational by 2030, some as early as 2026 [6] Financial Strategy - The company aims to reduce customer bills by 1% to 2% per gigawatt of new load by leveraging revenue from new large load customers to support its capital investment plan [6] - CFO Carolyn Burke indicated that expanding the capital plan to attract more large load customers is unlikely due to the company's low stock valuation, emphasizing a focus on upgrading existing assets and improving safety and reliability [7] Credit Rating and Regulatory Environment - PG&E's financial metrics align with investment-grade criteria set by credit rating agencies, which are monitoring regulatory developments in California for potential upgrades [8] - The recent passage of Senate Bill 254 is expected to strengthen California's wildfire fund, a significant concern for both rating agencies and investors [9]