PG&E data center queue reaches 12.87GW, 240MW under construction

PG&E's data center pipeline reached 12.87GW in the third quarter, up 160MW from the 12.71GW reported in July. Some 240MW of that total is under construction.

Applications and preliminary engineering make up 8.35GW, about 65% of the pipeline. Final engineering accounts for 3.88GW. Interconnection construction agreements total 400MW and construction 240MW, according to figures from the utility's third-quarter earnings call reported by Data Center Dynamics. Construction load rose from 140MW in June.

For infrastructure allocators, only the 240MW under construction and the 400MW with signed interconnection construction agreements represent load that can become near-term capex on substations, lines and transformers. The remaining 12.23GW in applications and final engineering is optionality, not committed spend. PG&E's $2 billion capital-plan cut, attributed to sub-investment-grade borrowing costs, leaves the financing of network upgrades as the open question. The 250MW Google project awaiting a CPUC decision needs a 230kV switching station, underground lines and a high-voltage connection.

CEO Patricia Poppe said the utility is focused on grid modernization to support 1.8GW of potential data center demand through 2030. "Since 2024, we have brought 174MW of data center projects online," she said, adding that the utility's focus would be on bringing more of the pipeline into service "in a way that will improve affordability for existing customers." She has previously cautioned that not all pipeline projects are likely to be built, Data Center Dynamics reported.

The utility is waiting on the California Public Utilities Commission to rule on an agreement with Google to build a 250MW data center in San Jose. The project requires a 230kV switching station, underground lines and a connection to a high-voltage line, and has met with delays and opposition, Data Center Dynamics reported. Google has taken on grid costs for its own load before. As Private Wealth Daily previously reported, it agreed to fund Arkansas grid upgrades for a 600 MW data center. The San Jose decision is the next regulatory checkpoint.